Star Swirl and Stripes Forever
by Sereg5
Summary: Zecora has warned Star Swirl CXLVII not to visit her homeland, but the alure of so many races weilding so many types of magic has made Zebrica too promising a location for Star Swirl's first trip out of Equestria. Why does Zecora fear for this trip? What secrets does the King of the zebras hold? Story three of the Truthseekerverse, but probably possible to read before the others
1. Expedition

**Star Swirl and Stripes Forever**

**Chapter One: Expedition**

Once again Star Swirl had to back away from the windows.

Flying in an airship was ... novel. As was turbulence. Something which did not occur in Equestria. And while she was grateful for her parents' support, up to and including the charting of the airship, she was not eager to repeat the experience in the near future. But finally, they were coming in to land. Soon, she would have plenty more material for her book.

"Welcome," the captain called out, "to The Cape of Good Hoof!"

She thought back to when she had first decided to make Zebrica the first place outside Equestria that she visited.

(/)

Star Swirl watched the zebra in front of her intently, making notes as she added various ingredients. "So, Zecora. I have to ask. Where did you learn all this?"

Zecora paused and slowly placed the jar in her mouth back onto the desk. "In my homeland, my parents taught me the basics, but all zebras use outside sources for their magic tricks."

Star Swirl frowned and lowered her head. Then she scribbled a note in her diary and lifted her head up with a smile. "So all zebras do this?"

"Not all zebras are the same. Like ponies, we have talents which give us fame."

"You have special talents?" asked Star Swirl with a raised eyebrow. "So that really is a cutie mark that you have on your flank?" She pointed to the symbol in question. "What does yours mean?"

"Our cutie marks may be of simple design, but they still work just fine. My talent is in mixing potions from plants, but there are others with talents in, for example, dance."

"So that's your talent! I'm really honoured to be learning from such a talented zebra! So, are you like the Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic of zebras?"

"Twilight's talent is in magic itself. We zebras have more magic than just potions from the shelf." Zecora smirked.

Star Swirl furrowed her brow and tapped her chin as she pondered Zecora's words. "Well, she _is _really amazing, so it's fine if you're not quite up to that standard. You're still amazing in your _own _way. So, does this mean that magic is pretty important in zebra culture?"

"Yes, arcane knowledge is the King Zebra's domain. It is something in which we must all train. Those whom had particular talent, on great journeys often went. They'd be sent beyond the kingdom's edge, to acquire even greater knowledge."

"So, you're in Equestria because you're on one of these journeys!-? How long have you been here?" Star Swirl leaned forwards, grinning.

"Seven years, I have been here. I won't leave soon, so do not fear."

"I really like this idea of journeying to other lands to learn from their inhabitants. I've been thinking of doing something similar. It's about time I started journeying outside Equestria so I can document more magic in my book!"

"Your approval makes me glad, just don't treat it as a passing fad."

"No! I'm completely serious about this! And I'd like to meet more zebras as well! Including your king! I should go there first!"

The jar Zecora was holding shattered on the floor. She turned slowly towards Star Swirl. "I don't consider that a wise decision! I beg you, pick another mission!"

"Why?" Star Swirl raised an eyebrow. "I've seen how much I can learn from zebras! I want to learn more!"

"South Zebrica is not safe for a pony! Choose another place for your journey!" Zecora leaned forward.

"I'm doing important magical research! These things need to be known! If it's dangerous, all the more reason for _me _to be the one to discover it! I'm sorry Zecora, but that's final! I have packing to do!" She got up and walked out the hut. "Goodbye, Zecora!"

Zecora ran to her door and leaned out as she raised a hoof to her mouth. "Please, Star Swirl! I beg of you! The danger I speak of is certainly true!"

Unfortunately, Star Swirl was already well on her way back to Ponyville.

(/)

The ship came to a rest and Star Swirl felt brave enough to look through the windows again. The earth ponies of The Cape of Good Hoof were waiting for them! Just as her research and communications had indicated. Clearly, Zecora had been worrying for nothing. There were already ponies here! How could being a pony make this place dangerous? Though, there was the matter of what most were wearing, which Star Swirl had originally assumed was some Zebrican fashion.

Star Swirl knew exactly two things about fashion. The first was that Rarity Belle was a fashion designer and that clothes she made were obviously superior to ordinary clothes for having come into existence in her presence. The second was that Fluttershy Posey was a former fashion model and while she had not liked it, she was obviously _awesome _at it because what else _could _she be? She did not even know the reason that Star Swirl the Bearded wore bells, though she had read several hypotheses, from the belief that he started to add a bell to his outfit for each spell he invented until he ran out of space, to the belief that he liked to use his bells to announce his presence to his allies and enemies, to the belief that he thought that they would protect him from invisible creatures which wanted to tunnel through his ears and eat his brain, to the belief that the bells were actually draconequus testicles that he had sewn into his outfit _before _cutting them off and he was too hardcore for the draconequi to do anything about it. Star Swirl had to admit that as much as the latter hypothesis had a certain _appeal, _its likelihood was ... remote.

However, she now realised that this "fashion" was actually barding. In her defence, she was used to the uniformity of the Royal Guard. And she could not even remember seeing earth ponies in the Guard. Whereas here, each pony looked completely different and the barding was not shiny, golden and standardised, but cracked, warped, battered mish-mashes made of patches of steel, stone and wood, which had been caked in dirt and old blood and had holes worn through them.

As she watched, a large, green stallion with a harness for a cutie mark stepped forward. He dug his hooves into the ground and a series of shrubs sprouted, lifting a set of boards to create a flight of stairs.

Star Swirl's jaw dropped.

The door opened and she slowly descended the steps.

"Welcome, Miss Swirl," said the stallion. "We were told to expect you."

Star Swirl raised a hoof. "You may call me Star Swirl the Hundred and Forty Seventh." She paused and sheepishly lowered her head and hoof. "Or Miss Swirl, if that's what you'd prefer. What would you like me to call _you_?"

"My name is Safety Net," replied the stallion. "Though most here call me Mayor."

Star Swirl's eyes flickered. "Well, Mayor Safety Net ... You don't mind me calling you that, right?"

"Call me what you want, as long as you remember who's in charge."

Star Swirl bit her lip. "Right. Well, Mayor Safety Net, I just wanted to say that the way you grew those stairs was very impressive."

Safety paused and tilted his head towards Star Swirl, cocking an eyebrow. "This is your first time outside Equestria, isn't it?"

"Yes. Is it that easy to tell?"

"Yes. You're soft. You've grown reliant on your unicorn and pegasus neighbours. You do not know war, or even what it means to have other tribes as your enemies. This isn't Celestia's realm. This is Zebrica! Land of tens of tribes and hundreds of threats, any of which is ready to kill you."

Star Swirl scowled. "Hey! Equestria has threats too, you know! It's not like we live in some idealistic utopia where nothing can hurt us! I'll have you know that I was almost eaten by a timber wolf! And that's excluding the large scale threats of Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra and Conformity!"

"Yes, I heard about those threats," said Safety. "And I'm grateful they were contained. Though I wonder, who rescued you from the timber wolf?"

"Fluttershy Posey, Bearer of the Element of Kindness."

"I see. And I'm guessing that she's a pegasus?"

"One of the greatest pegasi in the world!"

"Well, while we could certainly use some pegasus warriors down here, a _real _earth pony wouldn't _need _rescuing from a mere timber wolf."

Star Swirl gasped. "Are you accusing me of not being a real earth pony!-? What do you think I am then?-! A crystal pony!-?"

"I don't call _anypony _who's spent her whole life in a dead zone like Equestria to be real earth pony. You even _dress_ like a unicorn. And one with a very out-of-date sense of style, I might add."

Star Swirl's mouth stretched open, her eye twitched, she gradually lifted a hoof and pointed it accusingly at Safety, struggling to hold it steady as her mouth slowly opened and closed. "Th-this is a duplicate of the hat of Star Swirl the Bearded! My great and noble ancestor! I wear it in honour of his brilliance! Do you know _nothing _about honouring your ancestors! The ponies of South Zebrica are descended from Equestrian ponies! I read about that! Are you daring to accuse _them _of not being real earth ponies!-? Or any of the great earth ponies I know back in Equestria!-?"

"You're right. Our ancestors left Equestria when they realised that a princess having a temper tantrum could ruin our crops. And they came here, where Zaida, the King Zebra, granted us land. _Living _land which made us strong and where we wouldn't be affected by the whims of unicorns or royalty." He then turned away and muttered, "Not that that worked out so well for us."

Star Swirl raised an eyebrow at that statement.

"Still," he continued with added confidence and conviction, "having living ground has its perks. We may not be the only ones capable of growing plants here, but we can truly push them in ways we would never be capable of in Equestria."

Star Swirl blinked. She had to admit that the ground _did _feel different, though it was ridiculous to call somepony weak for lacking a resource advantage. She concentrated on her connection to the earth.

The flow of magic felt completely different. Every plant was hers to command!

"Wow! This is amazing!" she gasped. "You can all control plants this easily!-? Fascinating. This must be a _wondrous _place to live!"

Safety snorted. "It has its drawbacks as well. Not that you'd have noticed yet. You were lucky. You probably barely got turbulence on your way here."

Star Swirl frowned. "We had turbulence."

Safety rolled his eyes. "Foal's stuff. You didn't have to fly through a wild storm. Be grateful the springboks were apparently feeling generous."

Star Swirl's frown deepened and she raised an eyebrow. "A wild storm!-? What is a wild storm!-?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. A storm that happens by itself, with no one controlling it. I hear you get similar things in the Everfree Forest. But this isn't Celestia's land. It's not a dead zone. Wild storms are completely normal here and we don't have pegasi to protect us from them."

Star Swirl's eyes flung open and she slowly backed away, breathing heavily. Sure, she had been in the Everfree Forest before, but only during the _day_! And she had nearly been _eaten _there once! And who _hadn't _heard horror stories about it? For goodness sake, it was near _Tartarus _and most ponies considered it_ scarier_! She slowly started to ease her breathing. This explained why Zecora was so comfortable there. And she was a researcher! Pushing the boundaries of Science! Living on the edge! A little bad weather would not be so bad, right?

"Um, you said something about the springboks?" she asked.

"Yes," said Safety. "As I said, we don't have pegasi here, so they perform all the weather control that _does _happen. They're a little hindered by their lack of wings, but like some unicorns, they're still _capable _of doing it."

"That's fascinating!" squealed Star Swirl. "And exactly the kind of thing I need to find out about for my book! I cannot wait to meet the springboks. When may I?"

Safety scrunched up his brow and slowly tapped his chin. "Well, they're not exactly _hostile_, so I suppose that it shouldn't be too hard to convince them to at least _talk _to you."

Star Swirl blinked twice. "... Why does that sentence sound less than reassuring?"

Safety slowly opened his mouth.

But it was not _his _voice to next sound out. "ZEEEEEEBRAAAAAAASSSSS!"came a panicked cry.

Safety spun round. "Battle stations!" he called out.

There was a sudden flurry of activity as some adult ponies ushered the foals away from the voice while others rushed toward it. They were carrying weapons in their mouths and many seemed to pop out of nowhere.

Safety slammed his hooves down and a small tree grew in front of him. He ripped off a branch with his teeth to form a club and charged towards the voice.

Star Swirl panted as she followed him, barely managing to keep him in her sight before he reached a wall of thorns.

The wall had a ditch along its inside and was too thick to see through.

The ponies at the wall had grown trees to lift themselves high enough to see over the wall.

That was easy enough to copy. Star Swirl had learned to grow plants from the great Honesty Bearer Applejack Apple. If it really _was_ easier here, she should not have had a problem.

She was startled by suddenly being lifted from the ground and nearly fell off her new plant. She slowed down the growth and let it slowly lift her until she too could see over the wall. She was really impressed with how thoroughly these ponies covered their town with seeds.

She peered over the wall and saw a cloud of dust in the distance. As it approached, the air filled with the sound of thunder and the ground began to shake. It stopped before the wall and the cloud dissipated in an instant, being replaced by a multitude of zebras of various colours, patterns and sizes. Rather than barding, they simply wore straps to hold their weapons, masks, gourds, calabashes, jars, vials, talismans, rocks and other odds and ends. Star Swirl recognised some things from her time with Zecora, but most was new.

A muscular, scarred stallion, almost as large as Celestia, stepped forward and lifted his mask. He was khaki with brown stripes and one of the less colourful present. "Hi and hello, magnificent Mayor Safety, sir!" he called out as he lifted a hoof to his mouth.

"If this is a raid, Zaka, I'll do what I must to protect my ponies!" snarled Safety.

Zaka raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you say so. I simply see that thickening your young wall which you yearn to totally, potently protect you all yonder was wishfully done determinedly specifically since lately and last we went and brutally burned it. Tell to me methodically and daringly..." He brushed a hoof against a gourd and then struck it against a rock. It burst into flame. "... do you yonder _really, rightfully _think that will waver us?" He lifted his burning hoof to his mouth and blew, producing a jet of fire. He then waved the hoof and the flame went out.

"What are you doing here, Zaka?" Safety growled. "What do you want? We aren't scheduled for another offering yet."

"Yes, you're resplendently right!" said Zaka with a smile as he began doodling in the sand. "You yonder aren't scheduled! So definitely don't wearily worry. This thing isn't a righteous raid. We wonderfully, happily have no knowledgeable, righteous reason to terribly, potently punish you yonder. This thing is an ... inspection. We wondrously, happily heard you yonder were waiting for an airship, and fortuitously, it arrived! The thoughtful law, laboriously implemented is absolute. All imports require a righteous offering of a proper portion as tribute to Zaida, Zebra King. Continue to traipse on his honourable, lovely land, he humbly allows you yonder and in return, rightfully you yonder obey his holy, levees and laws and graciously give offerings and tallied tributes. As his humble, generous General, I accept total tribute and tally this there import. Bring it out briskly."

Safety narrowed his eyes and bit his lip. "This import contained nothing useful. Zaida will be wasting his time with it. And there was very little that was brought. This is why we didn't feel the need to inform him. There is no reason for him to take it."

"I think that I'd rather, rightfully, humbly have that evaluation thoughtfully done and demonstrated by bountiful Zaida's zebras," replied Zaka.

Safety shifted his legs awkwardly. "You only have your army here. Not the best for evaluation. Why don't you take an extra bag of sorghum in compensation. Perhaps we can discuss further details another time?"

Zaka raised his eyes, tilted his head and slowly nodded. "A sensible suggestion," he conceded. He then added three more lines to the drawing he had been making. "However, I also humbly, wondrously want a splendid spear." He pointed at a mare who was holding a spear in her teeth.

Her eyes widened and she backed away.

Zaka tapped the drawing twice and the spear ripped out of her mouth and embedded itself in the sandy drawing. "I think that I'll also take _it _tenaciously." He flashed a smile.

Safety nodded. "Right. Sorghum!"

A mare cantered up to the wall, carrying a sack on her back. The thorns parted before her and she walked out of the city until she was in front of the army. She quickly dropped the sack and galloped back into the city, shivering as the walls closed behind her.

An orange and green zebra walked up to the sack and threw it over his back.

"Thanks," said Zaka. "Then we will be back again, seemingly soon."

The zebras turned around and galloped off.

Safety lowered his head, closed his eyes and exhaled. The tree lowered him back to the ground.

Around him, the other ponies slowly returned to their earlier positions, some seeming to melt into the air.

Star Swirl rushed over to Safety with a frown on her brow. "What," she said, "was _that _about!-?"

_**AN: **__Right. So this'll be the third story about Star Swirl. The canon characters aren't really as involved here, but hopefully the Star Swirl and the OCs will keep you interested._


	2. Reassignment

**Chapter Two: Reassignment**

Star Swirl continued to stare as the various earth ponies in barding returned to their tasks. Wind rustled through the newly grown trees and a red stallion checked the wall of thorns for holes.

Safety sighed. "_That _was a big problem. Now I need to find something that the zebras will believe came on your airship."

"You're going to _deceive _them!-?" gasped Star Swirl.

"Of course I'm going to deceive them!" snapped Safety. He exhaled. "Now, you wanted to see the springboks. Good. Let's see if they'll take you. If they won't, then we'll try the deer, the elephants, the giraffes, even the _rhinos_ and the _hogs _if that's what it takes. We've got to get you out of the city!"

"Useless!" Star Swirl scowled. This attitude was deplorable! How insulting _was _this stallion?-! "Now you want to get _rid _of me!-?"

"I need to get you out of the city, yes!" snarled Safety. "As soon as we're sure the zebras aren't watching, I'll get an escort to hide you. And _yes_, we need to lie about it! The only thing I didn't lie about there was the fact that you're useless!"

"Useless!" Star Swirl scowled. This attitude was deplorable! How insulting was this stallion?-! "Why are you so determined to offend me!-?"

"Yes! Useless!" yelled Safety as he leaned forward. "And be grateful you are! It'll make it easier to protect you!" He sighed as he leaned back again. "Look. You may not be one of _my _ponies. But you're still a guest. It's my responsibility to keep you safe. If they found you interesting, they might demand _you _as tribute and while that might protect my own ponies from being asked for as an offering for a while longer, it wouldn't be right to just sacrifice another pony like that." He closed his eyes and hung his head.

"What-what are you talking about!-?" asked Star Swirl as her eyebrows rose. "Why would they want actual _ponies _as 'tribute'!-?"

"Mostly because we can do _this,_" replied Safety as he slammed his back, right hoof down and a field of sorghum sprouted around them. "Though depending on the pony's talent, they find other uses for us as well. Even though we're not the only ones that can farm here, we can do it much faster and more efficiently. Forcing us to tend _their _fields means they get all the food they want and they can focus on strengthening their army and other 'superior' interests."

"That's ..." Star Swirl backed away slowly. "That's terrible! Wait! Generosity Bearer Rarity Belle was in a situation like this. Have you tried whining?"

Star Swirl lowered his eyelids. "Doubt that'll help."

"Um ... But ... What about Princess Celestia!-? Surely she'll stop this!-?"

"Celestia. Can't. Do. Squat!" said Safety, stepping forward with each word. "When will it get through your thick skull!-? This _isn't _Celestia's realm! She has no authority here! To intervene, she'd have to invade which I'm sure the rest of the Cosmic Council would be _thrilled _with. Not to mention that King Zaida is hardly a lightweight. He's the most powerful member of the Cosmic Council in the region. His powers probably rival Celestia's own. Not to mention that he's about three times her size, has home field advantage and Celestia may be smart, but zebras are _crafty._ You want to try forcing a rainbow zebra to do something he doesn't want to do? And not even a _demi-_rainbow zebra, but a full-blooded one that's thousands of years old!-? Good _luck._"

Star Swirl blinked twice and furrowed her brow. "Okay, but ... I don't get something. The History books said that Zaida was kind and benevolent to his neighbours. Treating them as equals. Guests. Friends. And what you said earlier didn't exactly seem to throw that into doubt. Why would _he _suddenly be taking slaves and making unreasonable taxes."

Safety snorted and rolled his eyes. "That's what Zaida _used _to be like. I remember one time he was a guest here. He walked right up to me. His hooves must have been about as big as _I _was and he somehow still tousled my mane without hurting me and said, 'Keep an eye on him. I trust him to go quite far. Wait and see so.'

Then, ten years ago, he went on one of his global tours with just a few favoured advisors. He even visited Equestria. But he came back early and it was like he was a different zebra. Suddenly everything was about expanding the zebra kingdom and strengthening his army and forcing the other tribes to serve." He snorted again. "Just goes to show you that you can't really trust anyone."

"That's terrible!" cried Star Swirl. "What made him change?-!"

"I don't know." Safety shrugged. "But we need to get you out of here. Light Hoof! Full Plate!"

A small, yet athletically built, brown mare was suddenly next to her and a large, muscular, navy stallion with a short mane galloped over.

"I want you two to escort Miss Swirl. Protect her and make sure she isn't seen by the zebras. She's a guest from Equestria. She needs refuge. Take her to a tribe which isn't due for an offering in the near future and is willing to take her in. I'd suggest trying the springboks first. She wants to speak to them anyway."

"Understood, Mayor," they said with a nod.

"Stand behind me," said the stallion as he turned towards Star Swirl. "We'll lead you."

"Very well," said Star Swirl with a shrug.

Star Swirl followed them as they separated the thorns and lead her through the bush.

They trotted along a path through the long grass of the veldt for a few hours.

Suddenly, Full Plate stopped and raised a hoof.

Light Hoof also froze and lifted a foreleg to block Star Swirl's progress.

"What is it?" Light asked.

"Lion," replied Full.

Light followed his gaze and her ears pressed back. "I've got her," she said. "Do your thing." She then disappeared.

Full Plate slammed his forehooves into the ground, shaking it, and stone rose from the earth, enveloping said hooves in rocky gauntlets. He charged into the grass.

A lioness jumped out and tried to swipe him.

He blocked and tried to punch her, but she dodged.

Then, Light Hoof appeared out of the shadows and swept the lioness's back legs out from under her with her own.

The lioness collapsed on the ground. She began to lift herself up, but Light twisted her leg and she collapsed again. The lion reared up and tried to swipe, but Full decked it, rendering it unconscious.

Star Swirl stood still with her eyes widened. "What will happen to it?" she asked.

"It should be fine," grumbled Full Plate. "Zebrican animals can take care of themselves."

"I-I ... see..." said Star Swirl as she nervously raised a hoof to her mouth.

"Anyway," said Light Hoof, "we're entering springbok territory. When we meet some, let _me _do the talking."

"Okay." Star Swirl nodded. "But ... may I ask ... how did you _do _all that!-? I understand how Full Plate fought, but it was different for you."

Light Hoof turned towards Star. "Some of our ancestors used to work in the Equestrian Royal Guard. Celestia had her earth pony guards trained by donkeys. We may not be as good with their arts as the donkeys themselves are, but they compliment the natural abilities of earth ponies as well, so we've kept up the tradition. If the current earth pony Royal Guards are any good, you'd never see them. Unfortunately, I can't go into much more detail without teaching you, and you need to be in the army for that."

"That's ... amazing! And fascinating too. So, did you learn in the army? Were your parents also in the army?" She turned her head to indicate she was asking them both.

"My father is a chef and my mother is a miner," replied Full. "And I didn't learn much of the donkey arts. Only those like Light who are good at the basics go further."

"My mother works for the post office," replied Light. "And my father is a judge. Mom says that the members of the Hoof family used to be some of Celestia's most important guard members though. I don't know if that's true, but it sounded nice." She smiled.

"I haven't heard about that either," said Star, "but I like learning about families. And history."

They trotted for another fifteen minutes before spotting huts in the distance.

As they came closer, a pair of springboks pronked over to meet them. A glow enveloped their horns before spreading over their body, causing their muscles to bulge. The glows of yellow and green respectively matched the colours of the horizontal stripes which adorned their sides. Shields and weapons levitated before them. A shot spear in the yellow aura and a long stick with a sphere at the end in the green one. "Who goes there?" asked the green-striped doe.

"Igami lami uLight Hoof," said the brown mare as she held a hoof against herself before sweeping it to indicate her companions. "And these are Full Plate and Star Swirl."

"And what is your business here, ponies?" asked the yellow buck.

"We are here representing Mayor Safety Net," replied Full Pate. "We wish to speak to Queen Umoya directly."

The antelope looked at one another and the doe nodded.

The buck's body shone with a yellow light again and his muscles shifted unnaturally as his internal organs rearranged.

Star Swirl cocked her head and Full Plate held a hoof to his mouth to prevent himself from losing his lunch.

The buck then turned himself around and launched himself into the air as a streak, arcing back to the hut-filled area.

As the minutes passed, the ponies shuffled their hooves nervously as the antelope twirled her weapon.

"Er ... Nice club-thing," said Star Swirl through an awkward smile.

"It's called a knobkerrie," said the springbok as she rolled her eyes. "And I'm even better with it than Udonga is with his assegai, so don't try anything funny."

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Star Swirl nervously. "Er, the assegai would be the spear, right?"

"Spears are longer," said the springbok dismissively.

"Right," said Star Swirl. They returned to an awkward pause from which they were rescued by the appearance of an orb of prismatic light slamming into the ground next to them, causing it to shake. The light dissipated to reveal a small impact crater. Inside the crater stood an enormous springbok doe with elongated horns and a shimmering, multi-coloured stripe rather than a monochromatic one like those of her subjects.

"Udonga told me that ponies wished to speak to me on behalf of Mayor Safety Net," she said. "Is this true, Isihlangu?"

Isihlangu, Light Hoof and Full Plate bowed. Star Swirl followed suit.

"That is what they claim, your Majesty," said Isihlangu.

"Then I direct the question to you, ponies," said Umoya as she turned to face them.

"Indeed, your Majesty," said Light Hoof. "We come with a request for aid. We are in need."

"Aren't we all?" asked Umoya. "Still, what is your request?"

"Star Swirl is a guest from Equestria," explained Light Hoof.

"We wish for you to grant her refuge and hide her from the zebras," Full Plate continued.

Umoya cocked an eyebrow. "You are trying to hide an offering among _my _antelope, risking the wrath of the zebras for both of our peoples, having her use _our _resources and keeping her from being harvested while still allowing my own to be and all without compensation? May I ask why you chose me? Was everyone else too intelligent to accept such an agreement?"

"We are willing to pay compensation," said Light Hoof. "We can negotiate a fair payment of food. As for why you were chosen ..." She lifted her head and glanced at Star Swirl. "Miss Swirl apparently wished to speak to you anyway?"

"Is that so?" asked Umoya. "What is it you wished to speak about, Miss Swirl?"

Star Swirl raised her head. "Queen Umoya, I am new to this region and I don't know much about what's been going on, but I heard about your abilities and I see that they are even greater than I imagined. I am a researcher of magic and wish to learn more about the magic of the springboks. I am sorry if it is inconvenient for you to host me, but I will do my best to reduce that inconvenience."

A smile flickered across Umoya's face before disappearing again. "Really? You wish to see my performance?"

Star Swirl raised her head and blinked uncomprehendingly.

Umoya's smile broadened. "Ah, I see that you are less informed than I thought. But I would be a pleasure changing that. Honestly, I miss the times that members of all tribes would watch me regularly." She nodded her head. "Very well. I am willing to let her stay for a while if you are willing to provide fair compensation. We can discuss the details with my treasurer. Follow me." She turned around and began to pronk back towards the huts, the ponies having to canter to keep up.

"You can stay here," said Umoya as she indicated a hut. Her head lowered and her voice became sombre. "The previous owner was taken as an offering by the zebras."

Star Swirl blinked. "Um ... Thank you, your majesty. I'm … sorry to hear that. What happened?"

"Same as with every other case. The zebras arrived for the scheduled offering. Chose an antelope with skills they decided would be useful. I lose another subject. Anyway, you should rest. You ponies may be resilient, but even you need your sleep. And you need to be alert if you're going to watch me tomorrow. We'll deal with the financial implications ourselves." Umoya waved to indicate Light Hoof and Full Plate.

Star Swirl entered the hut. The front door led to a living room with a pair of sofas and a table surrounded by wooden chairs. The kitchen was bare of food which was presumably cleared out before it went bad, but the crockery was still in the cupboards below the shelves. The bathroom was tiled in multiple, bright colours and there was even a guest bedroom. It seemed that despite what it looked like outside, it was as well furnished as a typical Equestrian house. _Well, _she thought, _if Queen Umoya wants me to rest, I may as well do so. It looks like I have a long day ahead of me, after all._

(/)

Star Swirl slowly left her hut the next morning to graze for breakfast. She could worry about what was going to happen to her after she was no longer hungry. Still, the previous day's events were not reassuring. While there was obviously plenty to discover in Zebrica, things were not going according to plan and the situation was obviously very bad. She wanted to help, but what could she do if not even Celestia could help and she apparently now needed help _herself._

Grass was neither the best tasting nor the most nutritious food in the world, but it was a good idea to have some every now and then. And she wanted to avoid eating any of her hosts' food for now. Especially since she did not yet know how the negotiations of the previous night had gone. She lifted her head and turned around to see that Isihlangu had been guarding her door.

"Are you done?" the doe asked.

"... For now," Star Swirl replied slowly.

"Good," said Isihlangu. "Queen Umoya wants you to join her when you are ready. She's holding a session specifically for _you_!" She leaned forward and scowled, emphasising her greater size.

Star Swirl's eyebrows rose. "Right! I'll just need to grab my notes!" She rushed back inside and returned with her saddlebags.

"Follow me," said Isihlangu before turning around and pronking away from the hut.

Star Swirl trotted behind her, looking around. "So ... Why were you guarding my hut? Were you afraid I would gallop away or something?"

"Queen Umoya considered it necessary for the safety of all in the city. You included."

"Er, right." She continued to watch the antelope she passed. She decided that the residential and market districts were not that different from those of an Equestrian settlement. Even despite the major mode of locomotion making it look like a city of Pinkamena Diane Pies and the seemingly primitive architecture. Antelope left their huts, conducted business and greeted their friends, though all in a language she did not understand. It was also admittedly disconcerting to see the sky absent of pegasi. And that so many springboks were armed.

Differences began to become more obvious once Star Swirl realised that they were entering farm land. It seemed as though they had reached the agricultural sector. For some reason she could not discern, it was in the _centre _of the city. And it was a lot smaller than she expected. They kept some chickens, but no other animals. And they only had one tribe of farm resident.

"Are they ... some variation of _cattle?" _asked Star Swirl.

"Buffalo," replied Isihlangu.

"Really!-?" asked Star Swirl. "We have buffalo in Equestria and they seem very diff..."

"_Cape _buffalo," interrupted Isihlangu. "They _are _very different. As you said, they are more closely related to your cattle. Though I hear that your cattle don't really use magic anymore, whereas the buffalo provide us with magic in _addition_ to milk in exchange for our protection."

"They have magic _too_?" asked Star Swirl. "Different from your own?"

"Yes," replied Isihlangu. "As long as the zebras let them keep their bells."

Star Swirl looked at the buffalo and noticed that each had a bell around their neck. "I-I have to learn about _their _magic too!" she gasped as her eyes shone.

"We'll see," said Isihlangu. "You are asking about information that hasn't been spread around in _years_. I'm not even sure if it should be _classified. _I'll have to suggest that.And speaking of information I'd prefer to remain classified, despite what the Queen's orders concerning you are, this is our training ground." She waved a hoof to indicate the area before them.

It was a large field. Within the field, various armed springboks sparred, telekinetically lifted weights, jumped over hurdles, stretched and engaged in various other exercises as Umoya watched over them. There was a large rock covered in thorns in front of her and she frowned as a younger buck approached her. She looked down at him as he raised his head.

His horns glowed with the blue of his stripe, which spread over his body. He then smashed his face against the rock.

Star Swirl gasped, her mouth hanging open as she pointed at the buck and turned her head between Isihlangu beside her and the injured buck before her.

Umoya closed her eyes and shook her head. "Cha." She levitated the groaning buck into the air as he clutched his head with his hooves.

Another antelope pronked over and took him from her queen, carrying him into a hut marked with a red cross.

Star Swirl galloped over to Umoya as Isihlangu pronked after her. "Um ... No disrespect intended, Queen Umoyo, but may I ask," Star Swirl said, "what was that all about!-?" Her voice rose in volume and pitch for the final part of the question.

Isihlangu narrowed her eyes and snarled, "You will speak to her Majesty with respect, pony! You are here because of our charity!"

"It's all right, Isihlangu," said Umoya. "Miss Swirl is obviously upset by something she does not understand. If you'd really like to know, Miss Swirl, he was requesting a position in my army. I declined his request. He'll be fine once he's been treated. Though perhaps with some damaged pride. He'll know to remember that should he wish to apply again."

"That's how springboks apply for the army!-?"

"It's the traditional method, yes. Isihlangu, a demonstration?"

Isihlangu raised her head and a flash of green spread from her horns and covered her. She slammed her face into the thorn-covered rock, splitting it.

Star Swirl's jaw dropped again.

"Being part of the army is unpleasant, painful and deadly. This must be understood. I am not the great warrior or leader of armies my mother was," said Umoya. "If I was, I would have already tried to overthrow the zebras, like she would have. And they know it. But she's dead now. I am Queen, and different from my mother. Even still, I can't let my army become weaker than it already has. Not in times like these."

"Your mother would have rebelled?" asked Star Swirl.

"She would have. Our tribe would have covered our faces in red war paint and attacked," Umoya nodded. "The deer tried themselves, some years back. They even earned their freedom. But the zebras simply waited a couple of months until they were weak again and raided them in an act of, 'righteous punishment', I believe the term was. They haven't bothered trying again. Deer may be powerful in the right time of year, but like you ponies, they don't have a member of the Cosmic Council on this side of the world. And none of them are at the level required to take on Zaida. They didn't even bother trying. And we don't want to antagonise his daughter. Princess Zuri has stuck to the old ways, from before Zaida changed, after all."

"I see ..." said Star Swirl as she lowered her head. She then raised her head again. "What do you mean when you say that Princess Zuri has stuck to the old ways?"

The side of Umoya's mouth lifted into a half-smile. "The Princess still has the same view of the other tribes that her father used to. She disapproves of her father's recent actions, but she still loves him and cannot overrule his authority. At least we know that she helps look after the slaves. Poor thing feels rather conflicted. A rainbow zebra who has chosen to represent family is going to feel even more stressed than most in her position. But enough with such miserable talk!" announced Umoya. "I promised you a show! I'm having a performance specifically for you! Come!" She raised her hooves and clopped them together twice.

Every Springbok stopped what they were doing and turned towards her. She then bounded for a stadium on the other side of the training grounds. The other antelope followed her, some stopping to change hoofwear.

Star Swirl galloped after her until Isihlangu diverted her away from the crowd and into the stands of the stadium. The sat down in the front row. The stands were otherwise empty. A significant portion of the city stood stood in the arena, facing them, Queen Umoya at the front. They had all adorned their hooves and legs in various decor.

_Some of them appear to be wearing ... galoshes?_ Star Swirl thought.

Some furry leggings and some sort of shakers wrapped above the hooves were also common.

Umoya closed her eyes. She breathed in and out. Her horns lit up. And then she began to move.


	3. Discoveries

**Chapter 3: Discoveries**

Umoya lifted her right forehoof and thrust it to her left. Then she mirrored the action with her left hoof. She spun until she faced Star Swirl's right and flung a forehoof forward and a back one backwards. A strong breeze began to pass through the stadium. She jumped up into the air and twirled, landing back on her hooves. She then raised her front, right hoof into the air.

Star Swirl heard a rhythmic beating. She lifted her eyes and saw that a pair of antelope at the back had levitated over a wooden drum each and began to beat them with their forehooves, filling the air with music which added to the shakers attached to their hooves.

The rest of the antelope joined in with Umoya's dance, lighting their horns and matching her movements perfectly. They waved their forelegs in an arc and then twirled them.

Star Swirl noted that the sky was rapidly darkening. She looked up to see clouds filling the sky as they grew and puffed out in a billowing field of growing cotton. The clouds turned from white to a hue of grey which bordered on black as they thickened and rolled in the sky like a living, growing creature undulating in its coils and oozing a dark blanket of tar.

Star Swirl's skin tingled and her nostrils filled with the scent of a busy weather patrol.

They reared up and clopped their forehooves together. Lightning flashed and thunder roared. As they twisted through the air and performed feats of acrobatics and sudden thrusts of their limbs, the wind roared, clouds grew and further flashes of lightning punctuated the scene. They thrust their forehooves forward one at a time at increasing speed as the wind became more intense and the clouds covered up the last of the sky. They all jumped into the air and then rapidly tapped their hooves on the ground.

With that, a torrent of water dropped in a cascade that drenched the land below as Star Swirl jolted in her seat and her head darted about to take in the entire scene.

"Impressive, isn't it?" asked Isihlangu with a smirk.

"Yes," said Star Swirl breathlessly as she nodded slowly. "And fascinating. I'd be writing this down if I wasn't afraid of getting my notebook wet."

Isihlangu smiled smugly. "Our Queen chose dominion over the air. She is even better at this than another glimmering springbok would be."

"She's certainly proven the capabilities of both herself and your tribe," said Star Swirl as she stared at the dancers, her eyes sparkling. "I can't wait to learn more."

(/)

After the dance, Isihlangu led Star Swirl through the short, waxy shrubbery to Umoya. They squelched through red mud as they went, passing short patches of grass so hard they seemed to be made of twigs. The air smelled of rust, clay, hay and sawdust. She looked at the bright patterns painted over the whitewashed walls of mud. The stadium, unlike the rest of the buildings, was not thatched, but open to the sky and small brown birds flitted overhead between trees with large white thorns and feathery leaves, ones with flattened foliage and ones that looked like they had been swollen and turned upside-down. Piles of boulders lay in random heaps where grass grew among and over them. A large, grey bird with a long, curved beak called out, "Aww-ee-aww!" before landing on the ground and digging for worms. A giant, orange cricket-like creature with spiky legs oozed black ichor when Star Swirl walked passed it before jumping away. The doors were flanked with large, spiky aloes and bushes with furry leaves.

"Thank you, Isihlangu. I can look after her for now. You're relieved," said Umoya, waving a hoof in dismissal.

"Thank you, your Majesty." Isihlangu bowed and left.

"So, how did you find the performance?" asked Umoya. She shifted her hooves to face Star Swirl, disturbing insects as she went. A locust jumped out of her way before she accidently stepped on it.

"I thought that it was amazing," said Star Swirl as she leaned forward with a large grin until she was on the tips of her hooves. "It was fascinating the way that you could control the weather through dance."

Umoya smiled. "Thank you. It's nice to be appreciated by someone who is technically not one of my subjects. We may not have cutie marks, but that doesn't make us talentless. I'm actually pretty good at weather manipulation. Comes with my seat on the Cosmic Council."

"Which seat is that?" asked Star Swirl.

"Ariel," replied Umoya. "I chose to become the glimmering springbok of air. I may not be able to fly, but I can jump. And when I dance, that's good enough."

"I see," said Star Swirl. "Could you tell me more about how you use your dancing to manipulate the weather?"

Umoya sighed. "I've heard a bit about what Equestrians can do. At first glance, our magic may seem similar to that of unicorns, but it's not as clear cut as that."

"What do you mean?" asked Star Swirl as she leaned in.

"Follow me," said Umoya as she flicked her head. "I'll tell you as we walk through towards my indlu ..." She hesitated and shook her head. "I believe the Equestrian word is 'palace'? Though it's really just a much bigger version of every other dwelling here unlike Equestrian palaces."

Star Swirl shrugged. "It fulfils the function of a palace even if it's unusually round and short."

"Thank you," sighed Umoya.

"We're going to walk through the rain, though?" asked Star Swirl.

Umoya smirked and raised an eyebrow. "It's hardly a vicious storm."

"Right." Star Swirl nodded.

Umoya began to pronk forward and Star Swirl trotted next to her, her hooves sinking in the mud.

"Like unicorns, we have horns to focus and extend our magic beyond our bodies. But in practice, that's mostly just telekinesis. Most of the magic we cast only affects our own body. We have to dance to enhance our magic enough to get other effects. Even then, that's mostly weather manipulation." They travelled past thatched huts and springbok citizens returning to their business.

"I see," said Star Swirl as she walked around the thin-leaved bushes. "That really is fascinating. It sounds like the dancing manipulates the threads of arcane energy to create the desired effects. So, the test with the rocks involves magically manipulating your bodies?"

"Yes," replied Umoya. She pointed at the split rock as they walked through the training field. "A springbok is not normally physically capable of doing that. Once they are able to channel their magic into toughening their body and strengthening their muscles enough to do it, I know that they're ready for the dangers of being a soldier."

"Wow. You _all _have to dance to get maximum use out of your magic? And you can magically enhance your bodies? I really have to write all this in my book! I was wondering though. Isihlangu said that the buffalo use magic as part of their arrangement to stay with you. And that they need their bells to cast their spells. Could you tell me about that?" The bush made way for tall, yellow grass.

Umoya shrugged. "Sure. If you want to know about _that_. You're welcome to speak to them about it as well. Like us, they need an enhancement to use their magic to its full potential. However, they use bells instead of dance." They got onto a dirt path which circumnavigated the farms.

Star Swirl lifted a hoof and tapped her chin. "They use bells to enhance their magic?"

"Yes," replied Umoya. "As do wildebeest, I guess."

"Vill-duh-byeest?"

"Yes," said Umoya. "The wildebeest may technically be antelope like us, but they have a lot in common with cattle, including the ability to enhance their magic with bells. Our dances are more unique." Chickens scurried around on their left.

Star Swirl lifted her eyes to the bells which hung from her hat. "Soooo ... bells can be used to enhance magic?"

"Some types at least," acknowledged Umoya with a nod. "With us, the shakers work better." She lifted a hoof to show off the shaker attached to it.

"Hmm..." Star Swirl tapped her chin. "I wonder if _that's _the reason Star Swirl the Bearded wore bells."

Umoya lifted her head and frowned as they passed the buffalo. "I'm sorry. I'm a bit confused. Aren't _you _Star Swirl? I see bells, but no beard and I'd think you'd know your own reason for wearing them?"

Star Swirl smiled slowly and awkwardly. "I suppose that I can't fault you for not knowing who he is if I can't even get most _ponies_ to remember. He was my greatest ancestor. I am named after him and wear a hat of the same style in honour of him. I'm hoping to earn a title of my own one day, but for now, it's just 'the Hundred and Forty Seventh'."

"That's a lot of Star Swirls!" said Umoya as they veered away from the farmland and towards a large building.

"He lived a long time ago." Star Swirl shrugged. "Gives a lot of time for them to accumulate."

"Well, I wish you luck for your goal." Umoya nodded. "Well, it seems that we're just about here. An interesting topic of conversation does make the journey seem shorter, does it not?"

Star Swirl nodded. "Yes. I still want to learn more though!"

Umoya smiled and nodded. "That can be arranged." She pronked over to the large entrance which was being guarded by two springboks. One with a red stripe and one with a familiar, yellow stripe. They bowed at the approach of their Queen. "Udonga, you and Star Swirl already know each other, right?"

"We've met, your Majesty," replied Udonga.

"Excellent!" Umoya smiled. "You can be her guide from now on! I'd like you to take her back to the buffalo and let her interview them about their magic for now."

Udonga grimaced and slowly lifted his head. "And who will be the second guard to the palace while I'm away, your Majesty?"

"I'm sure that one guard will be enough with me here for a short while." Umoya waved a hoof dismissively. "I'll move another guard in to replace you as soon as I can. And don't worry about Miss Swirl either." She rolled her eyes. "She's from Equestria and is a _scholar_. Not an elite soldier or assassin. Besides, if Safety really thought one of his ponies could take _me _on, don't you think he'd rather send them after Zaida? I'm actually enjoying the fact that I'm getting some decent attention from a member of another tribe for the first time in a decade."

Udonga nodded. "Apologies, my Queen. We merely wish to ensure your safety. Your request is acknowledged and will be fulfilled." He turned towards Star Swirl. "Are you ready to go, Miss Swirl?"

"Yes." Star Swirl nodded. "The sooner I start, the better. I'm eager to learn more."

"Right. Let's go then," said Udonga. He pronked towards the centre of the city and Star Swirl followed him.

They kicked up clouds of red dust as they travelled across the dirt paths. As they brushed against the yellow grass, flies buzzed around them.

Udonga pronked over to one of the buffalo cows. "Molo, Dabula," he greeted her. "This is Star Swirl. She wants to ask you about your magic. Queen Umoya has given her permission."

Dabula widened her eyes and blinked. "All right, Miss Swirl. What would you like to ask me?"

"Um ... Well ... I was wondering ... May I see your magic?"

"What would you like to see?" asked Dabula.

"Anything!" cried Star Swirl as she leaned forward and her eyes widened.

Dabula shrugged and then began shaking her head.

The bell around her neck rang with the shaking and her horns began to glow.

A rock lifted in her yellow aura. The rock then rumbled and crunched as it slowly moulded into a miniature replica of Star Swirl in a series of compressions and settled on the ground before the earth pony.

Star Swirl, whose head had followed the rock's every movement, stood still and continued to stare. Her jaw hung slack and her eyes were wide. "Fascinating," she breathed. She lifted her head, bit her lip and tentatively raised a hoof. "Could you also make one of a unicorn stallion with a long beard wearing this hat?"

Dabula smiled and moulded another rock with her aura of crunching rock-sculpture.

Star Swirl's grin slowly widened as the legs formed and the horn sharpened to a point. Her teeth glinted in the sunlight as the wide brim of the hat was shaped. She quivered as tiny balls swelled on the hat to represent the bells. She stared at the sculpture. "I," she gasped, "have my very own miniature Star Swirl the Bearded! This is so awesome!" She lifted the figurine in her hoof and said, "Don't worry, Clover the Clever! I, Star Swirl the Bearded, shall save you from those hungry rock beasts!" She lifted her gaze back up to Dabula. "Could you also make one of Princess Cel—" She paused and cleared her throat. "Sorry about that. This is an important, _dignified _meeting regarding important magical research! So ... you can do more?"

"Depending on which spells you've learned," replied Dabula.

"So, it's similar to unicorn magic?" asked Star Swirl.

Dabula shrugged. "Well, we don't have special talents, but yes, there are similarities."

"But you still need protection provided by the springboks?"

Dabula raised an eyebrow. "We're not invulnerable just because we can cast spells."

Star Swirl lowered her head. "Of course. But you still submit to Queen Umoya's authority even though you aren't springboks?"

Udonga frowned. "What's this about?"

"I'm just curious!" Star Swirl insisted.

"Yes. We submit to her authority," replied Dabula. "The most important of the golden-hooved cattle lives all the way in Cowprus. We're outside her jurisdiction."

Star Swirl nodded slowly. "All right. Another thing that I'm wondering about is the fact that I've seen cattle wearing bells in Equestria. But they don't use them for magic, as far as I'm aware."

Dabula nodded. "From what I understand, bell-based magic became something of a taboo there after Grogar."

Star Swirl shuddered at the name of the Sapphire Ram. "That makes sense." Bells would have a reputation for being used in evil rituals after his tyranny. The way he used them to capture members of other races would understandably associate them with slavery. "I should have made the connection. May I ask the rest of your herd about their spells?"

"Go ahead," replied Dabula.

(/)

The Sun was low on the horizon when she eventually returned to Dabula. "Thank you so much, Dabula! This is all so fascinating! I've got plenty to write in my book already!"

Feel free to come back," said Dabula.

"Thank you!" Star Swirl grinned. "I'm sure I will! But I've got a lot of writing to do already. And I'd like to visit Queen Umoya again before I start."

Udonga rolled his eyes. "Okay," he sighed. "I'll take you."

"Thank you, Udonga."

They headed in the direction of the palace.

"You know," began Udonga, "you're asking a lot of questions about _us_, but we haven't learned much about Equestria from _you_. Is it true that the Cosmic in charge of death lives there?""

"Yes," replied Star Swirl as she walked through the long grass. "Her name is Plutonia."

"So ... can she like ... summon armies of undead or something?"

"Actually, it's part of her duties to _prevent _that kind of thing. She actually got in a lot of trouble a few centuries ago for neglecting that duty. She had her title stripped. Since then, she's taken her duties very seriously and she's not allowed to use the resources of the dead against the living. That even includes _knowledge._"

"That's a pity," said Udonga. The palace now occupied most of their view. "If it wasn't for that, murder cases would be solved very easily."

"Fortunately, murders are very rare in Equestria," replied Star Swirl.

Udonga nodded. "Point taken."

The wooden doors of the palace were massive, towering over even Umoya. The red-striped buck had been joined by a pink-striped one.

"I'm bringing Miss Swirl to speak to Queen Umoya," Udonga announced.

"Right," said the red-striped buck with a nod. He cracked the door ajar and slipped in. After a moment, he flung the doors open and said, "The Queen is ready to see you."

Star Swirl took a look around at the large space and the brightly coloured and sharply angled patterns which decorated the room as they entered. She was surprised to see that the throne on which Umoya reclined was made of wood.

"Well?" asked Umoya. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"I did. Thank you," replied Star Swirl as she bowed. "That was one of the reasons that I wanted to speak to you. To thank you. It was fascinating to speak to the buffalo. I've got a lot more material for my book. For which I'm really thankful."

"You said that that was only one reason. What about the rest?" asked Umoya as she raised an eyebrow.

Star Swirl grimaced and she brushed the floor with her hoof. "Well, as much as I appreciate the chance to study buffalo and springbok magic and want to continue doing so, I still want to study the magic of other tribes as well. I wanted to ask if I could visit the other tribes."

Umoya frowned. "That'll be difficult. We're technically trying to _hide _you. And we can't be certain how the other tribes will react."

"Can't you arrange _something_?" asked Star Swirl.

Umoya furrowed her brow. "Maybe. I'll certainly try. I'm sure it's possible, but I'd like to think about how best to do it."

"Then thank you," replied Star Swirl.

(/)

Further north, in a large stone castle, upon an enormous bed, lay a gigantic zebra with stripes of many colours and a purple cutie mark of a stylised brain within a calabash. He was adorned with golden jewellery and wore a white, wide-brimmed hat with a red feather sticking in its similarly-coloured band.

A pair of attractive zebra mares approached him from either side. They began to knead his muscles and rap their hooves against his back as he moaned in pleasure.

One of the mares glanced awkwardly at a stallion who was facing them. He was brown with green stripes, had a question mark for a cutie mark and wore almost as much jewellery as the king himself.

Besides him, the only other zebras in the room were a pair of guards at a small door to another room.

"_Um, your Majesty? I know that you want us to massage Ziro as well, but might it not be better to massage you both at the same time rather than separately?_" said the mare in Zebrish.

The other mare winced at the newbie's suggestion.

The King raised his head and glared at her. "_No!_" he roared. "_We will each get the FULL, UNDIVIDED attention of BOTH of you! And you will not TOUCH one of us while busy with the other! Is that understood!-?_"

The first mare recoiled and seemed to shrink. "_Yes, your Majesty. I'm sorry that I made such a stupid suggestion._"

"_Good! Now get back to it!_"

The double doors to the outside opened and Zaka walked in. The doors were guarded by two warthogs, one of which was khaki and the other of which was rust, in black armour and four zebras.

"_What, now!-?_" asked the King.

Zaka bowed. "_My King, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I thought that you would like to know. Our analysts have finished checking the figurines that Safety Net gave us. They were made in Zebrica, from Zebrican rock, using Zebrican tools. Safety made some modifications to try and hide that. His attempts, while impressive, were no match for Zebra science._"

The King scowled and jumped to the ground and walked towards Zaka. "_So, Safety Net LIED to us!-? We cannot allow such a precedent to stand! Find out what they brought on that airship and confiscate it! And also punish the earth ponies for defying us! Bring Zembea in case they need some encouragement to cooperate._"

Zaka winced. "_Zembea? Are you sure that that is necessary, my King? I'm not too fond of—_"

"_If they are uncooperative, use him. Those are my orders. Or do you wish to defy me?_" the King growled dangerously.

Zaka bowed again. "_Of course not, your Majesty. You are my King. Born destined to lead us. To bring the zebras to a new level of greatness. Whatever you say is right by definition. What are your other orders?_"


	4. Exposure

**Chapter 4: Exposure**

Safety left his house and shook his head, getting rid of residual drowsiness as he headed towards the small building at the centre of the city that was his office. He nodded, acknowledging the various ponies he passed as he walked through the grass and down the street. Then the alarm rang out.

"ZEEEEEEBRAAAAAAAS!"

He turned towards the cry and yelled, "Battle stations!"

"They have an elephant with them!" came another cry.

"And hogs!" added another panicked scream.

"This is a raid!" yelled Safety. "Countermeasures!"

He rushed to the thorn wall, grew a tree and joined his guards.

This time, the zebras hadn't bothered to raise a dust cloud. They were clearly there to show off what they could do and their enormous numbers.

Above the army, an elephant holding a glowing feather in his trunk flapped his ears to maintain altitude, even while being held in his magical aura, and pulled the chariot which contained Zaka along. As a loxodont elephant, it could channel magic through the feather and levitate itself in a form of flight.

A line of warthogs in black or red armour was at the head of the army. Those in red fidgeted, jumping from hoof-to-hoof impatiently, as they moved at the speed of the zebra army rather than running ahead as they clearly wanted to from the way they would try to speed up and would have to impatiently wait for the rest of the army to catch up.

"Take out the red hogs!" yelled Safety Net. "Now! Before they move!"

A mare threw a spear at the closest red-clad warthog. As soon as she let go of the spear, the air roared as it was torn apart by sudden velocity. The mare was launched from her perch as a cloven hoof connected to a blinding red streak hit her face at supersonic speed. The hog, who was mustard under his red armour, twisted through the air and landed back on his hooves. Behind him, the gorge he had ripped out from the earth was on fire. While not at rainboom speeds, it was still fast enough to cause plenty of damage. "Ledz zee ya dry dat agin, poniez," said the warthog. "Da hogz'll showz ya wodz wod!"

Safety turned away from his injured subject and snarled, "What's the meaning of this!-?"

The elephant landed and Zaka stepped out. "One would think thoughts of you yonder's would wearily find an unfortunate flaw in your yammering in which we were ones meant momentously to traitorously be blindingly, doubtfully duped."

"This is about the figurines," said Safety as he closed his eyes.

"Indeed it is." Zaka nodded. Then he raised a hoof and brought it down again.

The ten black-armoured warthogs charged through the wall of thorns, tearing large holes in it as if it was not even present. Five zebras tapped the amulets around their necks and sprouted bat wings. They flew over the wall and dropped gourds which exploded on impact. Ponies ran screaming as buildings and new sections of the walls began to collapse and fire from the explosions spread. Zaka and a team of other zebras dipped their hooves into gourds and struck them against rocks. Their hooves caught fire and they lifted the flaming hooves to faces. They then blew jets of flame into the thorns. Fire spread along the thorns, causing burning piles of branches to collapse into the city. Ponies screamed as they ran out of the way. Another zebra finished pouring an intricate, swirling pattern of differently coloured types of sand and tapped it twice. A whirling vortex of dust rose from the pattern and started ripping pieces of the wall away and tiles from the roofs. The zebras charged into the town though the holes in the wall after the warthogs. The black-clad warthogs smashed their way through walls and trees, sending ponies flying, while red-clad ones searched through the town at blinding speed.

A red stallion breathed in and punched a black-clad warthog in the snout. The ground cracked under the warthogs hooves as the impact travelled through his body, but he brushed it off and simply turned his head and drew a yellow, glowing lance. He then stabbed the ground in front of the stallion. A cage of glowing, yellow bars formed around the pony. "Won't get me _that _easily," snarled the stallion. He smashed his hoof into the ground, cracking it, and the bars began to shudder as the lance loosened in the ground. The hog replaced his lance with a yellow stick and smashed it on the pony's head in a flash of light and crash of thunder. The pony collapsed to the floor, twitching. He reached a hoof slowly towards the lance, but the warthog smashed him again and he lost consciousness. The warthog then pulled another lance out of his stash.

Safety got up from where he had been flung. "Ignore the hogs!" he cried. "Take down the zebras! We need a decapitation strike!"

A blue mare rushed in from the reserve fighters. "They'll need all of us," she thought. "There are so many of them! They have more warriors than we have villagers!" She ran over to the nearest zebra and decked him, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. She then ducked under the hoof of another zebra and tripped him. Her back hoof smashed into his face. She grabbed a third's hoof with her teeth and flung him aside. Another zebra flung a black pellet below her which sprouted four giant, black tentacles and held her in the air where she struggled.

"We can take them!" yelled a stallion. "We just need to get close! Charge!" He ran forward, leading more ponies in the charge. Another zebra flung a vial towards them. The vial hit the ground and smashed, releasing a wave of bubbling green ooze. "What is this stuff!-?" cried the stallion as it flowed as a wave of sludge over their hooves. They tried and failed to lift their hooves out of the sticky concoction.

Light Hoof popped in and out of the striped army, twisting limbs as she went. A zebra stallion tried to hit her with an intricately patterned staff, but she simply disappeared. Another splashed her with green goo. She reappeared right under him and rolled, gluing his own hoof to the ground before disappearing again while leaving the goo behind. A zebra mare rolled her eyes and quickly scratched a pattern into the sand before tapping it twice. Light Hoof felt herself rip away from the shadow and she appeared suddenly within the pattern, bearing a slack jaw and wide eyes. The zebra placed a carved pebble on top of Light Hoof which sprouted a spider web and pinned her to the floor.

Full Plate charged, his body covered in stone. He smashed through the zebra ranks, toppling them over. Another zebra pressed a ball of a blue, dough-like substance against him. He spun and bucked the zebra, knocking him out, but then the dough swelled in a foam that surrounded his body until only his head remained, leaving him immobilised.

Yet another zebra rapidly scratched an orange stone against the ground and slammed it against the steel in the barding of a stallion who had just knocked the heads of two other zebras together. Sparks flew and the stallion collapsed, twitching on the floor.

Another stallion grabbed three more zebras in the branches of a tree he was growing. The next zebra dipped her hoof in a red paste and swept it over another his barding which immediately rusted and fell apart. He was then hit in the side by a black-clad warthog, slid along the ground and into the nearest wall.

Safety charged through the ranks, ducking attacks while making sure each of his swings connected with a head, knocking down his enemies with the club in his mouth. Then a pair of red-clad warthogs zipped past him, ensnaring him in a net and tying it shut.

One stayed while the others quickly captured the rest of the ponies in the cages made by their magical lances.

Zaka and the elephant marched over to Safety.

The elephant played a tune through his trunk and the rope tying the net closed rose, lifting Safety into the air.

"No ground fir irf ponie ta uze," grunted a hog. "Da zebriez knowz wod deyz doin'."

"What was hopelessly hidden?" asked Zaka.

"You think I'll just tell you?" snarled Safety.

"Zaida asked Zembea to talentfully, powerfully persuade," said Zaka.

A grey zebra stallion with jagged, red stripes walked forward. He spun around and bucked Safety in the side. "Talk and you'll get to walk," said Zembea.

"I'll never talk!" yelled Safety.

"We will see," snickered Zembea. He dipped his hoof in grey paste and pressed it against Safety's barrel as Zaka winced. Safety screamed, writhing in his net. When Zembea removed his hoof, a red, blistering, hoof-shaped welt was left behind, sizzling and smoking.

"Even if you hurt me, I won't talk," growled Safety through a grimace.

"Perhaps you _are _one of those chaps," said Zembea. He walked over to a yellow filly who cowered in her cage and slowly raised his hoof to the gap between the bars.

Zaka narrowed his eyes. "Unafikiri nini unafanga!-?"

"King Zaida asked us to make him sing," replied Zembea with a shrug before returning his hoof to the gap.

"Stop!" yelled Safety. "Okay! I'll talk! The airship brought a pony! A mare! Named Star Swirl!"

"Where is this mare?" asked Zembea.

Safety hesitated, gritting his teeth together.

Zembea returned his hoof to the cage.

"She's with the springboks!"

"So, it looks like we have places to go!" Zembea grinned.

"Then there's potential punishment." Zaka sighed.

Safety closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Take me," he whispered.

Gasps rose from the crowd.

"I've failed you!" cried Safety. "I should go!"

"Cheer, for you have a volunteer!" Zembea called out. He then turned to Safety and his grin grew. "We need three."

"I'm going too!" yelled Full Plate.

"And me!" agreed Light Hoof. "We've been involved in this since the beginning. We should see it to the end."

"You're needed _here_! I _forbid _you!" cried Safety.

"Until repairs are done, others are needed more," replied Light.

"And sorry, Sir, but you can't order us around anymore. Not since you volunteered as tribute," added Full.

"I guess then that it's time to fly!" said Zembea. The elephant stopped his tune and Safety fell to the floor. Zaka walked over to the chariot and pulled out a warthogs then opened the bag and pulled out red sets of barding, the black-clad ones quickly changing. They then left in red streaks as sonic booms rattled the city. Zaka, Zembea and four other zebras got on the chariot as the elephant picked up a feather. He channelled his magic through the feather and he lifted into the air. They flew off while other zebras began to shackle their new prisoners.

(/)

Star Swirl was torn away from studying her diary by panicked screaming. She raised a puzzled eyebrow and packed the diary back into her saddlebags before leaving the hut.

"I'd suggest lying low," said Udonga, who had been guarding her door.

There were armed springboks pronking past at high speed.

"Is any of your earth pony magic good for hiding?"

"Closer to the opposite," said Star Swirl as her head darted around, taking in the chaos.

An orange-striped doe stopped to point an assegai at Star Swirl. "This is all _your _fault!" she snarled before moving on.

"Is she right?" asked Star Swirl.

"Probably," replied Udonga. "Come on. I need to hide you."

"From what?"

"The zebras. They're attacking. They brought hog warriors with them."

"Hiding isn't my thing," replied Star Swirl. "It was bad enough the first time, but at least I got to do some research here." She began galloping in the same direction as the antelope.

Udonga pronked up beside her. "What are you doing!-?" he cried.

"We're going towards the problem, right?"

"Yes! Which is more like the _opposite _direction that we _should_ be going!"

"If it's probably my fault, then I should probably be the one to fix it!"

"... I don't see how this is solving the problem. I may be a warrior and not a scholar, but I do have the ability to use logic and the civilian charging towards the powerful army doesn't really match up with that."

"Trust me."

"When have you given me a reason to _trust _you?-!"

They reached the edge of the city where they were blocked by a wall of springbok flanks.

Each springbok was pointing their weapons at a group of pacing warthogs in red armour.

An elephant-pulled chariot flew in as springboks gasped. It landed and zebras climbed out the chariot while the springboks whispered to each other.

Star Swirl's jaw dropped and she pointed a hoof at the elephant. "What is ...!-? How does ...!-? Something that big ...!-?"

"Loxodont elephant," Udonga hastily whispered back. "The elephant equivalent of your pegasi. Can focus their magic through a feather to levitate themselves."

Star Swirl's eyebrows rose. "Ooh, I have _got _to find out how that works!"

"Sanibonani, uZaka!" came the voice of Umoya.

Star Swirl turned her head to the right and looked at Umoya towering over her subjects while Zaka responded.

"What are they talking about? I need you to translate, please!" said Star Swirl as she turned back to Udonga.

Udonga sighed. "Queen Umoya gave him a very respectful greeting. He replied that he knows she's hiding a pony and wants her surrendered. Queen Umoya asked why he believes that. He said that he has Safety's confession. She asked if that's enough. He replied that it's enough to check and if we don't want to be punished as badly as the ponies were, it would be better to give her up now."

Star Swirl's eyes widened. She rose to her hind legs and awkwardly waved her forelegs as she yelled, "I'm here! I surrender!"

A significant portion of the springboks placed hooves against their faces, Umoya and Udonga included.

"You thought that that was a noble sacrifice that would keep us safe, didn't you?" Udonga mumbled.

The zebras' eyes shrank back to their original size.

"We're waiting for you to come over here," said Zembea.

The springboks parted to make way for Star Swirl as she walked up to Zembea, glancing back at the springboks before turning back to Zembea. She bit her lip nervously and slowly shuffled forward.

Zembea and Zaka knelt down, metal in their hooves.

"Wha-What are you doing!-?" asked Star shakily, trying to step backwards.

With an ominous clink, they snapped shackles onto her legs.

Star Swirl breathed in and steeled herself. "All right. You've got what you want, so you'll leave the others alone, right?"

"It is my regret to inform you that for such a crime, it would take two more for the punishment to fit," replied Zembea as his grin grew.

Star Swirl performed a startled jump and nearly fell over as she turned to face him and her eyes widened. "Wait, what!-?"

"Take me!" yelled Udonga before pronking forward.

"Me too!" came another call and Isihlangu pronked forward. "I've got to keep you two out of any _more _trouble," she muttered.

Star Swirl's head rapidly darted between the two springboks. "I-I..."

Udonga and Isihlangu were also shackled and Isihlangu whispered to Star Swirl, "Don't try breaking the shackles. They'll zap you!"

"I-Wait. Really?" Star Swirl turned to Zembea. "How exactly do these things work?"

Zaka's eyes narrowed as he examined Star Swirl. "Body isn't built for farming." He pointed at her cutie mark. "What would that there terrific talent allow?"

Star Swirl inhaled and lifted her head. "My special talent is 'understanding and explaining magic'," Star Swirl replied.

Zaka's eyes widened. "I hopefully have a perfect placement! Come quickly!"

Star Swirl shot a nervous glance at Udonga who shrugged as well as he could.

The prisoners were led away from the city and towards the mountains. Long grass was replaced with twiggy bushes with thin leaves as they reached the hills. But as much as she wanted to look at the sights, Star Swirl was preoccupied with stealing nervous glances at the zebras weapons and trying to walk while shackled, shivering and confused. A heroic sacrifice should have had an effect! And it should not have even been necessary in the first place!

They climbed a dirt path uphill as the wind slowly increased in intensity and clouds built in the sky. Star Swirl hung her head. Zecora had been right. Coming to Zebrica was a disaster for both herself, and everyone else.

Trees became taller and more common and rain began to fall. Their hooves squelched through the mud and leaf litter and Star Swirl's mane whipped wildly in the strengthening wind while her shivering intensified. It was bad enough with the fear. The cold only made it worse. Her hat flew off and she grabbed it with her teeth as the skies continued to darken. The forest thickened and branches and ferns swayed in the wind. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Star Swirl shivered and water dripped from her drenched coat.

"Can't you do something about this?" asked Star Swirl as she turned to her fellow captives.

Udonga raised a hoof as high as it would go. "Sorry. No dancing with these on."

"You're going to have to live with it," added Isihlangu.

A lightning bolt struck a tree and branch fell onto the path ahead of them. The company winced and shuddered before breathing a sigh of relief while Star Swirl fell over in her attempt to hide, kicking in the dirt to try get away from such uncontrollable and destructive power. A zebra pulled her to her hooves but her shivering only intensified. They jumped over the resulting log and continued on as the forest thinned out to rocky grassland. The storm eased to a drizzle and died out as they reached the summit and descended to the sandy plains below. In the distance was an enormous, stone, fortified city surrounded by farmland.

As they approached, Star Swirl took in the sights.

There were zebras everywhere, but that was not all.

Warthogs in black armour supplemented the zebra guards. Earth ponies worked the fields and every tribe of antelope was in view. Rhinoceroses guarded the gates as bellless buffalo were led through. An elephant cow sat in the most awkward position Star Swirl had ever seen while a kudu buck stood next to her. What looked like a large, brown rodent to Star Swirl's eyes ran over to them. Its pitch black eyes shifted to orange and then red before firing flames into the pit in front of them. The kudu's horns glowed and the flames roared, growing into an inferno which filled the pit. The elephant got to her feet and walked into the pit, kneading the substance which filled it whilst ignoring the flames. Waterbuck irrigated the fields directly from their horns. A red deer's antlers shone magnificently as he telekinetically lifted a duiker onto a giraffe's back. The giraffe's horns glowed and his neck twisted into the shape of a staircase which the duiker climbed to reach the nearest tower.

"You're drooling," said Isihlangu.

Star Swirl shut her mouth. "Sorry."

They walked through the gates, the rhinoceroses sniffing them as they past.

Zaka pointed at Star Swirl. "Come quickly," he said, beckoning with a hoof.

He led her away from the others, through the long streets, passing stone buildings, several of which were being extended by various slaves. They walked all the way to the large castle in the centre of the city. The guards saw Zaka and let them through the large doors without hassle.

The interior was opulent with precious metal and fine drapery. Though the walls were decorated not with paintings but with poems in foreign languages. Some were even written in Equestrian. She didn't have time to read them and they seemed to vary a lot, but she managed to catch some phrases. "The fountain of knowledge provides the greatest of all drinks", "the word sooths the weary and cuts down the mighty" and "knowledge is the key to the gates of power". They reached the doors at the end of a corridor which were guarded by two warthogs and four zebras.

One of the zebras bowed his head and entered the room. Moments later he returned and said, "Indeed. He agrees. He'll see you. You may now enter."

He swung open the doors and they entered the throne room. The tapestries were worded with golden thread. Red carpet imprinted with runes lay at their feet. The thrones were of gold and wood. One dwarfed the tiny stallion who sat upon it. He was barely larger than Zecora, though he was brown and green. The other was an enormous multitude of colour. This large zebra looked at them curiously.

"I have here a pony pointlessly, hopelessly hidden as pointlessly planned by belligerent, sacrilegious Safety," announced Zaka. "A seeming scholar of mighty magic, I thought that she should aid in your yonder sacred studies in the thaumic, sanctified study." He pointed over at the only other door, which was guarded by two zebras.

The king's face contorted with rage. The same rage that flickered over his companion's features.

He got to his gigantic hooves and marched over to Zaka, glaring down at him. "Do not anger me! I and Ziro enter there! Only we enter! I will not change that! Her talent does not matter! Assign her elsewhere!"

Zaka cowered, cringing before his king while Star Swirl's jaw dropped and her eyes widened in shock at what she was witnessing.

Flames leapt from the King's hooves and heat washed over them, yet Star Swirl's hooves screamed at her that what she was seeing wasn't real.

"Put her on research," the King said after calming down as the flames died away. "The library will suffice. She can farm as well. Let Zuri translate. She can help her to study. She'll need a zebra."

Zaka nodded rapidly.

Star Swirl stepped back in fear. This zebra made no sense at all! And the stories of his tyranny were made far more real by seeing his hostile reaction. Still, she was glad that she would get to research in a library and that she would be able to meet Princess Zuri, whom was apparently king to slaves rather than King Zaida if that was how he treated others. But she stared at the door to the study. Why did the King only want himself and this Ziro to enter to the point that he reacted that way? And what were her hooves trying to tell her?

_A/N: All right. Blame any problems with this chapter on my impatience rather than on my editters. I decided that I wasn't going to get much better without CONSIDERABLE effort for little improvement and I want to move on._

_Anyway, Sanibonani is indeed a respectful greeting in Zulu._

_Unafikiri nini unafanga!? is apparently "What do you think you're doing!?" in Swahili._

_Also, this chapter is dedicated to Poseye of my biggest fans, who is no longer with us. :-(_


	5. Background

**Chapter 5: Background**

Star Swirl breathed heavily as Zaka led her out of the throne room.

Zaka himself also seemed shaken up. His head hung low and he walked in silence as he took her to a large, open field of yellow grass between the houses and next to a large building, where a large number of other slaves was being gathered.

He left her there, among the other slaves, surrounded by guards.

She was soon approached by Safety and Full.

"Light said that she saw you arrive," said Full.

"What are you-?-!" Star Swirl sputtered. "Light Hoof's here too?-!"

Light Hoof was suddenly at her side. "Of course I'm here," she said.

Star Swirl jumped at her sudden appearance.

"You didn't think there wouldn't be repercussions if you were found, did you?" Safety sighed.

"You were really taken?" asked Star Swirl.

"And they did a lot of damage to the city," said Full.

"This is all my fault," Star Swirl choked. "I-I completely ignored Zecora's warning not to come here! I completely disregarded any ideas that anything could go wrong! I was always willing to put _myself _in harm's way for magical research, but I never thought I'd be risking others!" She dropped to the floor and covered her face with her hooves. "I've been such a horrible, negligent, self-absorbed pony! I've only made everything worse!"

"No," Safety sighed. "It's my fault. I should have realised that a zebra could only be deceived by another zebra. I was just desperate to try _something. _But of course, they saw through it and now another attack on our city rests on my shoulders. We were helpless before the zebra army's large number of elite units. And now the city is ruined and has to be rebuilt _again._"

"Blame is irrelevant," said Light Hoof. "You know that the zebras would have done something like this again at some point. What's done is done. We took the risk when we decided to do something likely to anger the zebras and of course we'd do it at _some _point again. Were we just supposed to sit on our hooves all day while the zebras took more ponies as slaves with no end in sight? Now that we're here, we need to look for weaknesses so that we can fight back."

"As much as I like the idea, I don't want anything to get worse," said Full. "I liked the idea of helping out, but all that did was get us into this mess. I don't want to repeat that without a better idea that it will actually _help _this time."

Light snorted. "We're slaves. How much worse can it get? If he gets much worse, he will have a war on his hooves even _despite _the expected repercussions. Zaida is as bound by the same rules of the Cosmic Council as the other members and _someone _would take him down if he becomes too bad. We're at the bottom now, so we have to fight our way back up as we can't fall any lower."

"The springboks were attacked as well. That's how they got me and two springboks," said Star Swirl.

"It's not surprising. They agreed to help us defy the zebras," said Safety. "And any other tribe would have been treated the same way. They have been and will be in the future."

A red deer tossed his head and mumbled. "Ek is honger. Prinses Zuri is laat!"

Another raised a hoof and pointed. "Daar's sy!" she cried.

Heads turned to see a large, multi-coloured zebra mare. Taller than Zaka, but not by much. She wore nothing but a sad smile, yet the colours of her coat shone vibrantly. She pulled an enormous wagon behind her, laden with wooden bowls, spoons and pots of what looked like mushy, white beans.

"Nasikitika kwamba nilikawa kuchelawa," said the zebra mare. "Lakini kustahili sasa alihawi."

The slaves approached the wagon and Star Swirl found herself jostled forward.

An impala doe became visible in front of them as if she had manifested from thin air. A giraffe magically stretched his neck until his head was at the front. Space distorted and a tsesebe took a step from the back of the line to the front. A red deer growled as his antlers sparked. His doe companion touched his barrel and tossed her own antlers to indicate the zebra guards who were patting their vials meaningfully.

"Tofadhali kuwa na subira," said the large zebra mare. "Kuna kutosha kila mtu."

The deer's antler's dimmed and the other slaves stopped jostling. One–by-one they each grabbed a bowl and filled it with mushy food.

"I've never seen food like this before," Star Swirl commented.

Full lifted his muzzle from the bowl. "It's called samp. Try it. You might like it."

"You probably would have had some with the springboks if you stayed there a bit longer," said Light as she wrapped her tail around her spoon. "Be grateful. If it wasn't for Princess Zuri's insistence, Zaida would probably force us to get by on grazing." She scowled.

Star Swirl took a bite. The flavour reminded her of unbuttered popcorn, but it was softer. It was different from what she was used to, but not unpleasant. "And she delivers the food herself?" She continued to eat as she listened to the answer.

"She wants to make sure we're not treated too badly, so she tends to get involved in that kind of thing," said Light.

"Feeding the slaves?" asked Star Swirl, turning towards Light.

"Looking after slaves in general," replied Full.

"There's a reason that she's well liked by non-zebras," added Safety.

"But she can't free us?" asked Star Swirl.

Full shook his head. "She won't defy her father's orders. Even though she openly expresses her disapproval of them to anyone who will listen."

"It's like she uses the slaves as therapists," Light snorted.

"So she spends most of her time talking to them and making sure that they aren't treated too badly," said Full.

"Then what will happen to us!-?" asked Star Swirl.

Full hung his head. "That's up to the zebras to decide."

"Unless we fight!" Light insisted.

Zuri unhooked herself from the wagon and walked towards them. "You must be Miss Star Swirl," she said. "Who has distressed General Zaka so much."

"Yes, Princess Zuri," said Star Swirl as she bowed, muzzle to the floor. "More specifically, 'Star Swirl the Hundred and Forty Seventh'. If you feel like being more specific."

Zuri's eyebrows rose. "I was delayed by a conversation with him. Why he was upset by you is something I don't know though."

"He suggested that I help King Zaida and Ziro in the study," replied Star Swirl. "King Zaida reacted very badly."

Zuri closed her eyes. "I can see how that would upset him. My father's approval is something he seeks earnestly and he has done so since he was a foal. Father won't even let _me _in there anymore. Rather unlike ten years ago when he had all the greatest minds in Zebrica helping him experiment. I was told about you and asked to assist you. My duties, that my father has assigned me, will be helping translate the books in the library to aid in your research."

"Thank you, Princess Zuri!" said Star Swirl, attempting to bow even lower. "I will do my best!"

Zuri smiled. "Do not feel the need to bow to me. You may be a slave, but I also feel imprisoned by this situation despite my status. My father is no longer the King I remember. I feel a greater connection with the slaves now and hope that you will become one of the many friends I have made among them."

Star Swirl raised her head. "It would be my honour, Princess Zuri."

"Then follow me. When we work together, we will learn a lot about each other in addition to magic."

(/)

Zuri led Star Swirl down the winding passages of the castle until they came to a set of doors which were even more ornate than those to the throne room. The wood was intricately carved and gilded with golden swirls and red calligraphy covering it. Zuri swung open the doors and Star Swirl froze, her eyes sparkling as they widened. She slowly lifted her head until her neck began to ache and simply stared.

Books. Books _everywhere. _The shelves reached the incredibly high ceiling and were completely packed. In fact, some slaves appeared to be building _more _shelves! Other slaves used their telekinesis to fetch tomes from the higher shelves for the library's patrons.

"So ... beautiful," Star Swirl whispered. She followed Zuri through the doors. "This is a very impressive library."

Zuri smiled. "The written word is very important to zebras and it was especially important to my father. A pity that seems to have been replaced by cruelty. He used to _love _magic and would eagerly join in helping our people's work. We were a race of scholars under his guidance, but he has become lazy and mostly sticks to illusions like Ziro, leaving the work to slaves."

"Only illusions," Star Swirl muttered as she tapped her chin. "Is that why he-? Princess Zuri, you weigh as much as you look."

Zuri raised an eyebrow. "What an odd comment! Not the kind of thing one would normally say to a Princess."

Star Swirl shook her head. "Sorry about that. No offense intended. But ... So King Zaida should as well, right? I mean ... I'm sure that you can do some amazing things with illusions, but why would you do _that_!-?"

Zuri's eyebrows rose higher. "... Maybe we should just get to work. We have a lot to read."

Star Swirl frowned, but she followed Zuri to a table and poured over the tomes that Zuri passed her, listening to her explanations on what they said. Her mind filled with arcane formulae, alchemy and thaumaturgy. But while she enjoyed the work, she was distracted by the fact that she was now a slave. _I can't ignore this any longer, _she thought. _Things are as bad as Zecora warned me. I really HAVE become a slave! Not only that, but I've made things worse for those who live here as well! Now I've seen it with my own eyes! It's MY fault that Good Hoof was attacked and it's my fault that ponies and springboks were enslaved!_ Eventually she could not take it anymore. She lifted her head and slammed her forehooves on the table. "Princess Zuri! You've treated me kindly and as an equal and spoken out openly against this situation. I feel like you are someone I can trust to listen to my fears. I should be excited to be in this library. Researching magic is the reason I came here in the first place. But I'm scared! What will happen now that I'm a slave!-? Both to me and to this entire messed up political situation!-?"

Zuri sighed and slumped in her chair. "I don't know. My instinct is to avoid thinking about it. Normally you'd do some working the fields. We would also continue our work here.

"However, we've never had an Equestrian citizen as a slave before. Were Queen Umoya to bring you up in the next Council meeting, which she might if she believes she'd be advantaged by doing so, and Equestria demands your return, I don't know what will happen. No one wants another Cosmic war. So horrible were some of them that I think not even my father wants one. Yet my father has become stubborn and unwilling to consider long term diplomatic relations and the alicorns are angry enough with him already. Let this situation escalate too much and, well, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have defied the Council to overthrow a slaver before and as much as that was a headache for all involved, even Princess Celestia's legendary patience is not limitless.

"Should Princess Celestia and my father clash in actual combat rather than insults and political manoeuvring, the results would be devastating. Would be a disaster that could spark a Cosmic war of a scale that hasn't been seen in well over a thousand years and my father may order me to fight. My desire to fight an alicorn, even if I believed I would win, is nil. I have nothing against the Equestrian royal family. A pity that my father is no longer on their side. Way back, he apparently had a crush on Princess Celestia."

Star Swirl jumped in her seat. "WHAT!-?" She looked around at the stares she was attracting, remembered she was in a library and slid back down. "Sorry," she whispered.

The corner of Zuri's mouth lifted. "She was quite a catch and bearing an Element made her even more appealing. He considered her more his type than the bearer of magic was as well." Zuri sighed. "Despite all that he's done, I love my father. Might he one day do something so horrible that even _I _have to reject him? A terrible thought. The current situation is bad enough that I have no desire to imagine worse for long. Then there's the fact that I cling to hope that this is just some kind of extended cutie mark failure or something and that he'll wake up from this madness any day now. When he does, I'll swing my arms around him and bawl into his shoulder about how I've missed him." Zuri gave a small smile as her eyes glistened.

Star Swirl watched her while chewing her lip. "When _is _the next Council meeting anyway?"

"We have arranged for the next one to be on Wednesday at lunchtime, local time. See a bit of a problem with that, but I've at least arranged that the slaves _will _be fed."

"_So that would be the best time to find out the truth,_" thought Star Swirl with a frown.

(/)

Later that evening, Zuri lifted her head and looked at the clock. "Time that we stopped," she said. "I'm needed in the kitchens to bring the slaves supper" She turned towards a springbok. "Could you take Star Swirl back, Isinkwa? Should not be long before I join you."

"I'll be happy to, Princess Zuri," said the doe.

(/)

Isinkwa led Star Swirl back to the field where they had lunch earlier. The slaves were still being gathered for supper.

"Thank you, Isinkwa," said Star Swirl. "I have to meet up with some friends."

She searched the crowd for those who were enslaved because of her and practically dragged them together. "We need to talk," she said.

"I'm listening," said Full Plate.

"The situation is very bad, but I need to know exactly what it entails." She turned towards Isihlangu and Udonga. "There is a Cosmic Council meeting on Wednesday. Will Queen Umoya mention me there?"

Udonga shrugged. "We're just soldiers, so we can't be sure. It would probably increase hostilities between Zaida and Equestria."

"But we can't be sure if our Queen would decide to go that route," added Isihlangu. "While pressure on Zaida by other members of the Council is good for us, she's not exactly eager for a Cosmic War _either_. Now, if she knew that a Cosmic War was inevitable _anyway_, she'd want to help Princess Celestia fight Zaida, but she's not the warrior her mother was. And she doesn't want to experience the wrath of other members of the Council. Really, it's likely to depend on what else happens in the Council meeting and how she believes the alicorns will react."

Star Swirl closed her eyes and bit her lip."Then I should probably tell you something. I'm already on friendly terms with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna _and _Princess Cadance."

Udonga closed his eyes. "And Queen Umoya doesn't know that, so she won't realise how badly they are likely to react."

Safety placed a hoof on his face. "This is going to Tartarus in a saddlebag."

"Well, it's unlikely that something will happen in the next Council meeting to provoke Queen Umoya into mentioning you," said Full Plate.

Star Swirl shook her head. "We can't just assume that."

"And it'll probably happen at _some _point," added Isihlangu.

"And if it does?" asked Light. "Shouldn't we relish the idea of Zaida and his cronies getting their flanks kicked!-?"

"I don't relish the idea of another dead zone or savage zone forming," said Safety. "Or for the entire region to be reduced to ash at the bottom of a crater."

"And we don't want Equestria to be retaliated against _either_," added Star Swirl.

"So what are you going to do about it?" asked Light Hoof.

"I'm not sure," said Star Swirl. "I've got some ideas, but I think I should sleep on it."

(/)

The next morning, Star Swirl was actually assigned farm work. She poured seed into the furrows left behind when the elephant bull in front of her ploughed. Eventually she noticed Ziro and the king walking around, inspecting the fields.

"Do those two ever go _anywhere _separately?" asked a stallion on her right. "I get the impression that they go to the _bathroom _together!"

They walked over to Star Swirl's section, their faces contorted.

Star Swirl looked ahead and saw that the elephant's progress compared to that of their near neighbours was ... disappointing. Star Swirl concentrated on her connection to the earth. "Okay, so I can feel King Zaida's weight now," she muttered. "But Ziro's ..." she trailed off.

Ziro and the elephant quickly got into a loud argument which involved a lot of frowning and viciously waving forelegs that she could not understand. Ziro pulled out a hoofful of green powder and blew.

A cloud of green formed and out of it stepped a giant, mangy, bipedal rat. It had fangs which dripped blood and a scar across its eye. It wore grey, hide armour and its clawed hands carried a spear with a jagged spearhead which impaled the skull of a miniature elephant.

The elephant screamed and cowered, covering his face with his forelegs as he shivered on the floor.

Ziro barked one last order before turning away.

The rat collapsed in a heap of green powder.

Zuri hurried into view, saw the crouching elephant and rushed over. She lifted a hoof to his side and stroked it as she whispered to him. He slowly lowered his forelegs and got back to his feet. They spoke and he returned to the plough.

Zuri's face hardened into a scowl and Star Swirl approached her.

"I can't believe that my father keeps insisting that Ziro would be a good husband for me," Zuri snarled. "My resulting family would be completely dysfunctional even if I somehow fell in love with that slime ball!"

"He wants you to marry Ziro?" Star Swirl asked.

"Yes, he does," said Zuri. "Less said about _that _the better, though I'm not going to pretend it isn't true. My feelings on the matter are apparently unimportant. Why have I become less important than Ziro? We used to do so much together! He won't even let me join them in the study!"

"What does he have in there?" asked Star Swirl.

"We don't know," replied Zuri. "He has become secretive with everyone save Ziro. My mother's throne should be empty right now, rather than occupied by Ziro's flank, which insults her memory with its presence! I may be grateful that my father's alive, but I can't overlook how he seems to have poisoned my father's mind."

"What do you mean, 'I may be grateful my father's alive'?" asked Star Swirl.

Zuri sighed. "When he was travelling ten years ago, my father became violently ill to the point that he could have died. Then Ziro found a doctor and the two of them treated my father, granting him an astonishingly speedy recovery. My words that father shouldn't have taken so smarmy a creature with him just because he happened to be a very impressive illusionist had to be eaten. I still feel like my father died that day though." She hung her head. She lifted it again with a smile. "I'm sure that I'll cheer up once we're working together again, though. Time in the library will be a lot more pleasant."

"That's not something I'll argue with," sighed Star Swirl. "I love libraries and studying magic was the reason that I came here in the first place. I didn't expect becoming a slave to be involved though."

Zuri sighed. "I understand. My only advice is to try and make the best of it as I try to do." She turned and walked away.

Light Hoof dropped to the ground from the nearest tree and walked over. "So?" she asked. "Have you decided what needs to be done?"

Star Swirl frowned. "Over the past year, I've learned that things are not always what they seem. "We have to get past some guards. I need to find out the truth."

(/)

After three days of manual labour and struggling to understand thick tomes via Zuri's translations, Star Swirl was headed back towards the library with Zuri.

"I know that you were ordered to help me, Princess Zuri, but I still want to thank you."

Zuri cocked an eyebrow.

"You have really helped me understand a lot more about magic, which is why I came here in the first place. I just wish that I could actually _see _more of it."

Zuri narrowed her eyes before widening them and smiling. "I think we'll make a detour through another room then," she said. "My duties there are coming up soon anyway."

Zuri led Star Swirl back into the palace and opened a door near the throne room.

Star Swirl's jaw dropped.

In front of her floated a model of the Solar System. Naturally, it was not to scale, yet it was very impressive. In the centre of the room was a floating globe with Zebrica facing the door. Celestia's sun and Luna's moon circled the globe, staying roughly opposite each other. The planets and dwarf planets circled the sun and the other moons circled their respective planets and dwarf planets.

Zuri walked over to the ringed orb which represented Uranus and lifted her hoof to a pebble which floated near the blue sphere and gently pushed it. "I believe that should do it for now," she said. "My methods may not be as showy as Princess Celestia's, but they get the job done."

"That's-that's amazing!" gasped Star Swirl. "So one can control the heavenly bodies from here?"

"_I _can control Cordelia from here," Zuri corrected. "Why don't you try moving one?"

Star Swirl walked up to the large, orange, ringed orb that represented Jupiter, placed her hooves on its surface and pushed.

Nothing happened.

Star Swirl pushed harder, drawing upon the earth for her strength.

Still nothing.

"_This is ridiculous!_" thought Star Swirl. "_This globe can't weigh THAT much more than I do!-? Why can't I move it!-?_"

Zuri giggled. "You need a bit more than a typical earth pony's strength to move a planet. Do you see why this is mostly left to cosmics?"

The pebble representing Ganymede shifted suddenly. Zuri narrowed her eyes and turned back towards Uranus. Another pebble shifted in its orbit.

"He goes again after Ganymede like clockwork," she said. "Only twice since his recovery has my father allowed Prospero's orbit to falter and Ganymede's orbit did on those days too."

Star Swirl shook her head wildly. "Wait. King Zaida just moved Prospero? He can do that without being in the room? And which days are you talking about that he let Prospero's orbit falter?"

Zuri turned back towards her. "There is a smaller, simpler model that lets him do it remotely so he can travel. Bear in mind that everyone lets their orbits falter at some point, including Princess Celestia. Prospero's last wobble was under the influence of the Secretariat comet. So that is understandable. Before that was at the same time as a wobble by the Sun, Venus and Ganymede. War between Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance and Queen Chrysalis explains the rest of that."

Star Swirl narrowed her eyes and bit her lip.

Zuri walked back to the door and beckoned with a hoof. "Come with me, though. Some books are waiting to be read."

Star Swirl followed her, lost in thought.


	6. Investigation

**Chapter 6: Investigation**

Star Swirl had gathered the rest of her companions. They stood in the shadows of the slave compound in the morning twilight. _They've all been enslaved because of what _**I've **_done,_ she thought. _I can't let them down again. I've _**got **_to fix this!_

"So," said Safety. "when you say you need to find out the truth, what do you mean?"

"Knowledge is power," said Star Swirl. "Inside King Zaida's study is something that neither he nor Ziro want anyone else to know. Secrets havepower. If we find out what that is, some of that power will transfer to us. And it's clearly a _big _secret. I believe that it completely changes the balance of this situation. Finding out what it is in that room is our best chance of stopping this mess."

"So we need a way to get past the guards?" asked Full.

"We need a plan," said Safety. "I've got some ideas, but if they're going to work, we need the help of an impala."

(/)

The impala doe who had cut in line for lunch the day Star Swirl had arrived stood before them. "You're saying that you need me to get you past some guards?" she asked.

"Yes, Letlalo," said Safety. "We have reason to believe that it would strike a blow against the zebras' tyranny. But we need an impala's skills. We heard that you'd be interested in defying the zebras."

"I dunno," Letlalo said. "I'm not really interested in having this blow up in my face. Why don'cha just deck some hog in purple and orange. Oh, right! Invisibility isn't gonna get you through the door _anyway _and even if it was _open, _it would be blockaded. So I dunno why you bothered me with this in the first place."

"We aren't asking you to come with," said Safety. "We just need you cloak us, which is why a hog won't do. As for the other problems, leave them to us."

"When they catch you, they'll know who helped you," said Letlalo. "Now, it should be worth it to stick it to the zebras, but you'd better have a good plan with a hefty payoff. How do I know this'll be worth my time?"

"We have reason to believe that this will be a big blow to the zebras. If you're worried that we won't be around to reward you, we can pay you in food beforehoof."

"All right. I'm interested at least. Let's see what you've got."

(/)

Safety stood in front of his pony and springbok team. "Okay," he said. "So during the Council meeting, Zaida won't be in the throne room. But there will still be two zebras guarding the door to the study." He drew two rooms in the dirt with his hoof, marking two Xs at the door between them.

"They wouldn't be a large threat, but we can't have them raise the alarm. Then there's the matter of getting into the throne room in the first place. It's guarded by four zebras and two hogs which would be a dangerous group to try overcome by ourselves. We wouldn't manage without raising the alarm at least." He drew another four Xs and two stars by the opposite door.

"Luckily, I can get them to temporarily open the doors, though it would mean that I'd be left behind." He drew a circle next to the group of four Xs and two stars. "Until the next election, I'm still nominally the ruler of ponies in Zebrica. As a tribe leader, I can demand to see Zaida at a moment's notice. He can refuse to see me, but the guards have to either inform him of my request or prove he's unavailable. By invoking that right, the guards will be forced to open the doors and show me that Zaida isn't in his throne room. They'll keep the way blockaded, but that will have to be enough of an opening. The zebras know that they have to take me there to avoid Zaida being disciplined by the Cosmic Council.

"Luckily, with Letlalo's help, that should be enough when combined with the other abilities we have available. Unfortunately, with only two springboks, you'll have to stay behind as well, Full." He drew another circle next to the first.

"What!-?" cried Full. "Then how am I supposed to help!-?"

"You'll have to wait outside in case backup is needed," replied Safety. "There can never be too much backup, after all. The rest of you have the other abilities you'll need to get in. Now we have one day to make sure that we get this right."

(/)

The next day, in a dark place filled with star-like lights in a void, all was still, silent and empty. Then, with a bright light and a pop, a large, white doe, with enormous, intricate, green antlers from which moss hung, appeared. Her antlers glowed as she lowered her flank and a wooden chair formed for her to sit on. A wooden desk then formed in front of her. On the desk was a plaque that said, "_Noa of Earth_".

All around her similar flashes began to appear as many creatures of various shapes and sizes appeared. A three-humped camel, a multi-headed dragon and a cow with long horns and golden hooves arrived. A giraffe with a leopard's pelt, a pink, bipedal lion with a heart on his stomach and a black tapir with twelve white spots and a long trunk took their seats. A great white elk whose antlers could each hold a bath, but instead held icicles, a green and gold, winged boar with enormous tusks and a white, eight-legged elephant walked over and formed their desks. A red ram, a gryphon with a mane of feathers and hair and a hyrax whose eyes were swirling pools of colour, light and darkness entered the void between the glimmering stars. A large bison with long horns, a white coat and multi-coloured feathers, an enormous spider clicked as she walked and who had swirls of darkness cloaking her, a kudu whose mane and horns were on perpetual fire, a large, white, eight-legged horse who was missing an eye and still more continued to arrive.

Each used their magic to form a space for them to sit among the starry emptiness and a plaque bearing their name and seat on their desk.

A dark blue alicorn appeared and sat at her stone desk labelled, "Luna of Luna" in the common practice of naming newborn Cosmics after the seat they were expected to hold, which had occasionally resulted in embarrassments like "Sol of Uranus". A springbok whose stripe glimmered in the many colours of mother-of-pearl sat at her desk labelled, "_Umoya of Ariel_". A large, green flame manifested and green ooze dripped from the air before forming a chair and desk labelled, "_Chrysalis of Ganymede_". An alicorn filly leaned back against her chair and placed her plaque saying, "Plutonia of Pluto" in the very centre of her bone desk before shooting a glare at Chrysalis. Next they saw a large, multi-coloured zebra stallion arrive and sit at a desk bearing the words, "_Zaida of Prospero_". Pluto glared at him as well before returning her glare to Chrysalis. A white alicorn with a multi-hued mane appeared in a flash and sat in her chair of golden light at her glorious solar desk which was emblazoned with, "Celestia of Sol". Another multi-coloured zebra, this time a mare, appeared and sat at a desk bearing the words, "_Zuri of Cordelia_". Finally, a pink alicorn yawned and rubbed sleep from her eyes as she sat at a desk labelled, "Mi Amore Cadenza of Venus".

Noa looked towards Cadance and nodded.

Cadance closed her eyes and her horn emitted a blue light which brightened and filled the entire area of starry void which they occupied.

"_Well, it seems that we're all here, even if some of us are still apparently in dreamland,_" said Noa, her voice sounding like the native languages of everyone present under the influence of Cadance's magic.

"_Give us a break!_" said a trunked tapir. "_It's after midnight in our time zone!_"

"_You didn't hear me complaining last time it was my turn to meet after midnight,_" replied Noa.

"_Remind me why we have time zones in the first place again?_" asked the tapir.

"_Because the Earth is round and I don't consider it a good idea to change that,_" replied Noa. "_Just be thankful that you're not pulling a double shift like Celestia had to until recently._"

The tapir glared at her.

"_Anyway,_" Noa continued. "_if we look at the minutes of the previous session ..._" she took out a long scroll. A few others, including Pluto, did the same. _"... as far as I'm aware, nothing much has changed on the issues we discussed. At least from my front. Does anyone else have anything to report on old business?_"

Umoya chewed her lip and glanced towards Celestia.

"_I have old business!_" yelled a maned gryphon.

"_What is it, Grant?_" asked Noa.

"_I wish to return discussion to the matter of the relationship between Saddle Arabia and Equestria,_" Grant replied.

"_This again?_" asked the one-eyed, eight-legged horse. "_The relationship between Saddle Arabia and Equestria is _**our** _business, not yours nor anygryphon else's in the Gryphon Kingdom._"

"_While Grant may be being muzzly ... er ... beakey, Sleipnir,_" said Noa. "_he is, however, right in that it is true that changes in the geopolitical climate affect us all._"

"_And it's gryphon business to know who allies with _**horses**," snarled Grant.

"_What _**is** _the news there?_" asked Noa.

Sleipnir rolled his eye. "_Yes. We are in the process of establishing a friendly relationship between our countries. Sending dignitaries, establishing trade—_"

"_Forming an alliance,_" hissed the elk with the ice-encrusted antlers. He turned towards Celestia. "_What are you planning, Celestia? And don't tell us 'nothing', because we know that you're always planning something._"

"_Please, Jokel. Give everyone an opportunity to speak,_" said Noa. "_That goes for all of you! Do I need to remind you again that these are supposed to be dignified, diplomatic proceedings! Not an antler-measuring contest! At least in theory. It's still months until the Last Use of Antlers Festival. Now. One at a time."_ She looked around at the raised appendages._ "Zuri?_"

"_I think that if Celestia and Sleipnir want more positive relationships for their countries, I can only say, 'Good for them!'"_

The zebra king snorted. "_Celestia's powerful enough already without Saddle Arabia's support._"

"_Bingo! Somezebra knows what he's talking about!_" Jokel pointed accusingly at Celestia. "_You arranged an ascension less than two centuries ago,_" He shot a dirty look at Cadance.

"We've already told you that she had nothing to do with that," Cadance muttered irritably.

"_Now that she's an adult, you return your disgraced sister—_"

"I art sitting right here," said Luna.

"_You return her to her seat and responsibilities, you now have an active set of Elements of Harmony, a weapon capable of defeating Discord, with which to threaten us and now you're forming an alliance with Saddle Arabia!_" He slowly walked across the emptiness between the stars towards her._ "Admit it, Celestia! You powermonger! You are trying to throw off the delicate balance! You are preparing for Cosmic War which will place the ponies at the top, stamping their hooves on the faces of the cervids forever! Well the elk won't be intimidated, Celestia! Give me a reason to show you who the better mage is!_"

Umoya bit her lip, wondering if it was a good time to bring up Star Swirl.

"_What did I just say!-?_" asked Noa, resting her face on her hoof.

"_Who are you planning on recruiting to your little alliance next, Celestia!-? Tell us! Who!-?_"

"_Discord,_" replied Celestia.

"_What?_" asked Jokel as he stepped back in shock.

"_What!-?_" repeated every other non-alicorn present as they swung their heads towards Celestia so fast, one would be surprised that they did not develop whiplash.

Pluto suddenly became very interested in checking her forehooves for dirt.

"_What are you talking about, Celestia?_" asked Noa.

"I am planning to release and reform Discord," replied Celestia.

Silence reigned.

"_You're_ _pulling one of your pranks on us, aren't you?_" asked a white, multi-legged elephant.

"No," said Pluto as she looked up. "This time she is serious. Seriously _insane_ admittedly, but still serious. She has already filled out the paperwork. In triplicate. Which is more important than normal as the copies are likely to be turned into a swarm of spiders and a slice of cheesecake."

"_This isn't a case of cutie mark failure, is it? What _**possessed**_ you to even _**contemplate**_ that!-?_" asked Noa.

"Conformity did," replied Celestia. "If she was right about one thing, it is that we need a more permanent solution and none of us are powerful enough to kill him."

"_If that's the problem, then we simply need to _**make** _a way of killing him. We have time. Seeing as though artefacts are the best solution so far, maybe we need to expand on that,_" Jokel turned towards a large, overweight caribou with a long, white beard and a red nose who wore red with white, fluffy trims and a floppy hat. "_Rudolph, can't you forge ... I don't know ... a _**seventh** _Element of Harmony or something!-? The Element of Getting the Job Done? It would have certainly saved me a few headaches._" He shot a glare at Luna.

Rudolph shook his head. "_The Elements of Harmony were formed together under the influence of multiple individuals and a lot of luck. Not even _**they** _knew how they did it. I don't know how to improve upon them. Any attempt could cause disruption. And we don't actually know how much time we have._"

The zebra king shook his head. "_I still think we should wait. What good can come from letting Discord out a second earlier than we have to?_"

A golden-hooved cow snorted. "_Please. You're just afraid of being kicked out by a bigger bully. The buffalo in the south may be in your jurisdiction rather than mine, but I don't have to like what you do to them._"

"_What we do in our own realms isn't relevant to this discussion,_" said a large, metallic black donkey as he polished a shuriken.

"_As Mordred indicated, as distasteful as many of you find it, slavery isn't against our laws,_" added a dragon. "_In fact, our laws are mostly there to _**discourage **_us from interfering in each others' business._"

"_I agree with Celestia,_" said the pink lion. "_We should forgive and forget._"

"_You _**always** _say that, Mufasa,_" said Noa. "_We could probably add your contribution to the minutes without you even being present. You don't even have animosity towards her!_" She pointed a hoof towards Chrysalis.

"_My kittens are beings of love. Her kind feeds on love. It is only natural for them to feed on us. It is the circle of life._" He lifted his paws into the air.

"_That's not a circle. That's like ... a straight line!_" argued Noa.

Mufasa raised a paw. "_Ah, but changelings make ooze which fertilises the soil, allowing plants to grow and bear fruit, which mice eat. Then we eat the mice. We are all connected. As one._" He made a circular motion with his paw.

Chrysalis flared and her flames faded, leaving a bright red, emaciated doe with large fangs, rotting holes covering her body and putrid velvet hanging from her antlers. "_Would you prefer us to feed on_ **your** _citizens, Noa?_" she asked.

Noa narrowed her eyes. "_Careful. You're in enough trouble after what you pulled in Equestria._"

"_We're getting off topic,_" said Jokel. "_Why are you only speaking to us about this _**now**, _Celestia?_"

"I wanted to make sure that I could organise everything first," said Celestia. "That is why I spoke to Plutonia first."

"As you should have!" said Pluto. "_I am _the one who is supposed to be in charge of prisoners, remember? And for once, I agree with Celestia. Having Discord sit in her statue garden is unproductive. We _know _that it is not a permanent solution! You _cowards _are just hoping to leave that problem to the _next _generation! Well, _I _am the next generation, and I want it dealt with while we can deal with fallout. Tartarus's policy has always been that redemption is better than containment." She raised a hoof and lifted her head. "Though, I must admit that I would like it on record that I think that Celestia's plan is insane. Bold, but insane."

"_Call us cowards after you've lived through a Cosmic War, infant!_" snarled Jokel.

"Mortis did," replied Pluto. "And once again, I must question the wisdom of insulting the one who will decide your final fate."

A serpentine creature with mismatching wings and limbs lifted her green arm above her desk labelled, "_Pandemonium of Pandora_" and said, "_As much as_ _I'm one for crazy ideas and as much as I like the idea of my brother being neither a statue _**nor** _ruling over me with an iron talon, do you really think you can control him?_"

"I have every faith in my student and her friends. One of her friends in particular," replied Celestia.

"_You're entrusting this to_ **mortals**_!-?_" asked Jokel. "_Have you _**really** _lost your mind!-? What happens when they fail!-?_"

"_Then we have an epic fight on our hooves! Which will be fun. Until he subjugates all life, of course,_" said a winged boar.

Noa turned to look at him. "_If you have nothing useful to contribute, Gork, then shut up._"

"I knew that I should have brought popcorn," sighed Pluto.

"They have the Elements of Harmony," replied Celestia. "I have discovered that they protect their bearers while worn and with a little help from my own experiments, he won't be able to take them off."

"_What if he just teleports to ... say ... the Gryphon Kingdom?_" asked Grant with a wave of his talon.

"The Elements can track him. They will catch up. But they won't need to. Fluttershy will succeed."

"_You're not going to be persuaded, are you?_"asked Jokel.

Umoya bit her lip and then raised her hoof. _Here goes nothing,_ she thought. _If things are about to get this chaotic anyway, this will at least give us some time._ She opened her mouth and yelled, "_I have new business! Zaida has enslaved an Equestrian citizen!_"

"WHAT!-?" yelled the alicorns as they spun to face her.

"_An earth pony from Equestria came to visit Zebrica and was taken as tribute by the zebras._"

Celestia turned towards Zaida. "Is this true!-?" she demanded.

"_Yes,_" said Zuri. "_It is._"

"_Enslaving members of another country?_" asked a three-humped camel. "_That's really low, even for you, Zaida._"

"_Didn't you get the message from all the coal?_" asked Rudolph.

"_I want it on record that I disapprove of slavery of members of other countries,_" said the red ram as he raised a hoof. "_And of slavery in general. Despite what's said about my family._"

Noa rolled her eyes. "_Yes, we know. We put it record every time it comes up. Along with, 'I am not my uncle,' and 'I have good reason to believe that I'm adopted.'"_

"_Her name was Star Swirl ..._" Umoya continued. "_... the Hundred and—_"

"The Hundred and Forty Seventh?-!" asked Celestia.

"_That's ... it,_" replied Umoya before biting her lip and wondering what exactly she was initiating. "_She said that she wanted another title but that that's the one she has at the moment._"

"**THOU DARE ENSLAVE ONE OF OUR CITIZENS!-?**"

Noa uncovered her ears again. "These are modern times and we aren't your subjects. Remember your volume, Luna."

"Oh, Star Swirl," said Cadance as she lowered her head. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

Luna narrowed her eyes. "It wasn't that long ago that such an act would result in a duel. It is an act of war."

"_And we abandoned such practices for a good reason, Luna. Even _**you** _know that,_" said Noa.

"_Unfortunately,_" a caribou doe in a Viking helmet sighed wistfully. She swung a large axe in her aura and pointed it at Zaida. "_Does this mean that my navy is at risk when we land at Good Hoof?_"

"But it still _is _an act of war," said Celestia. "I have been very patient and lenient with you, Zaida. I have seen others fall to darkness before and I have seen them return. I am planning to give Discord a chance, after all."

She exhaled. "So I am _hoping _that this was merely a mistake on your part. That you did not realise that you were enslaving one of _my _citizens and that you are about to correct this mistake and return her while re-evaluating your life and deciding to turn from this path of wickedness and return to being the zebra I remember."

She clenched her eyes shut before opening them again. "_Please _tell me this is true. Tell me what happened to result in this. Maybe if this was a mistake, a poorly-made snap decision that you are willing to back down on or something that you have only now realised was a stupid idea, we can work this out.

"As much as I have found your practices of the past decade disgusting and have made that perfectly clear, as you said, this is not like the Cosmic Wars when we could just interfere with each other's land when we wanted to.

"But surely Equestria can give you better resources than slaves. Are you _that _fargone?I could not legally do anything about what you did to the citizens of you own land. I don't want a Cosmic War anymore than anyone else does. But I will not ignore how you treat one of _my _little ponies. I am giving you one week to return her, Zaida. I want to solve this diplomatically, but the enslavement of one of my own citizens is something I _will not _be open to negotiation on. Return her, Zaida. Because if you don't, we _will _be at war."

"_Are you threatening me, Celestia? Threatening to go against the Council's most important purpose? Do you really want to fight someone as powerful as me?_"

Celestia leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. "It is a promise. I have beaten you before and this time, it won't be a friendly spar. I have built up a lot of frustration with you in recent years. You have provoked me enough."

"_Father, please be reasonable about this,_" Zuri begged.

"_After all the dung you put _**me** _through, are you just going to let her get away with that!-?_" asked Chrysalis.

"_No,_" said Noa. "_You know the rules, Celestia. Are you really willing to devastate Zebrica over this? You know that we won't let you go unpunished. You know that preventing fights from breaking out between us is the primary reason that the Council exists. You know how horrible the Cosmic wars were and why we don't want any more._"

"_Please don't make war, Celestia! Let's make peace instead!_" said Mufasa.

"_We're not going to have you invade the _**rest **_of our countries, are you, Celestia?_" asked a dragon.

"_Yes. This had _**better **_not be an indication of your plans for the future,_" added Jokel.

"I am willing to submit to the Council's disciplinary action," said Celestia. "I don't want a war either. But I won't let this slide any longer. I cannot allow my citizens to be harmed even if it means that I will be punished. _One _week, Zaida. Make the intelligent choice and surrender her. Don't let us come to blows. _Neither _of us wants that."

(/)

As some zebra guards began to serve lunch to the slaves in Zuri's place, Star Swirl and her band of allies ducked back into the sleeping compound. Safety turned towards the springboks. "All right," he said. "Do your thing."

Their horns glowed and their legs lengthened before seeming to dislocate and contort into odd angles until they had the low-slung bodies of spiders. Their hooves then enlarged into large, suction-cup-like pads. Star Swirl tilted her head as she took in the spectacle.

"I'm never going to get used to that," said Full.

"Toughen up," replied Light.

Isihlangu flicked her head. "Get on while you can still see where we are." Light climbed onto Isihlangu's back while Star climbed onto Udonga's.

Safety turned to Letlalo. "Your turn. Cloak everyone except me. And you of course."

Letlalo rolled her eyes. "Right. Just remember that when this falls apart, it's your fault, not mine." Her horns glowed and the springboks and their pony riders faded from view, leaving only pinpricks of light where their eyes once were. "Just remember to avoid the rhinos. They can smell you."

Safety nodded. "We remember. Thank you for your help. You will be remembered once victory is ours."

"No way!" cried Letlalo as she flung up her hooves. "I was never here!" She faded from view.

Safety narrowed his eyes and said, "Follow me and keep your eyes hidden. Split off when we approach the castle."

They left the compound and either walked or scuttled towards the nearest pair of guards. The antelopes' bodies swung awkwardly as they avoided the rocks and patches of dry grass in the vaguely-defined orange dirt path which would brush up against their now very low bellies. Slaves and guards turned to look at Safety, some raising an eyebrow.

"I demand to see Zaida right now!" said Safety.

"Is he not busy?" asked one of the guards.

"I don't care!" said Safety. "Take me to see him! Take me to the throne room right now!"

"Is he not elsewhere?" asked the guard. "Is he not in a meeting with the Cosmic Council?"

"You're lying!" said Safety as he pointed at the guard. "You just don't want to be inconvenienced! Well, I have a right to see him! I'm the Mayor of Good Hoof and leader of the Zebrican earth ponies!"

"Do you not see that Princess Zuri isn't here?" asked the guard. "Is that not proof?"

"Of course it isn't," snarled Safety. "Princess Zuri is obviously busy, but that has nothing to do with Zaida! You have to take me to him! If he's really not here, show me his empty throne room!"

The other guard rolled his eyes, sighed and said, "There once was a pony from Good Hoof,

Who thought we weren't telling the truth,

But if he won't believe,

And he thinks we deceive,

We'll take him and show him the proof."

The zebras shuffled towards the castle, leading Safety as Full Plate and the springboks followed. As they entered the castle, the springboks quickly hurried to a wall on the side of the throne room door. Udonga pressed his pad against the wall. There was a "shloop" sound.

The guards turned their heads towards the sound. Safety's eyes widened. "I AM HERE AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL THE EARTH PONIES IN ZEBRICA!"

The guards turned their heads towards him before tilting them. Their jaws slackened and they raised their eyebrows.

"THIS TREATMENT OF US IS RIDICULOUS! I REMEMBER BACK WHEN I WAS A FOAL ..."

The antelope quickly hurried up the walls while Safety's voice boomed.

"... THEY WOULD ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET IF THE MAYOR WANTED TO SPEAK TO KING ZAIDA!"

The springboks positioned themselves above the door as Star Swirl hung on for dear life. The guards who led Safety decided to ignore his rant and spoke to those guarding the throne room door in Hog-Latin. The other guards shook their heads and opened the doors while positioning themselves to block the threshold. The springboks scuttled through the top of the door as the guards slowly raised their heads. Safety stomped a hoof. "PAY ATTENTION TO ME! WE HAVE IMPORTANT BUSINESS TO DISCUSS!"

"Can't you see that King Zaida isn't there?"

The other guards began to close the door, but Safety reached out a hoof and slammed it against one of the doors. "NO, I CANNOT SEE THAT!" he yelled.

Udonga slipped over the threshold as Star Swirl slowly exhaled.

"Would you lower your hoof?" asked one of the guards as spears were pointed at Safety's chest. As Safety complied, they closed the doors and he continued. "Where would he be if he was in the room?"

"YOU COULD HAVE HIDDEN HIM WITH YOUR FREAKY ZEBRA VOODOO!" Safety yelled as the antelope hurried along the throne room's ceiling.

They tuned out Safety's extended rants from beyond the closed door as they stopped just above the door to the study. Light let go of Isihlangu and dropped, twisting the air before kicking out, connecting a forehoof to the head of one guard and a back hoof to the head of the other. Three bodies slumped to the floor as Light became visible again. She clenched her teeth and suppressed a groan as she got back to her hooves and the others climbed down to the floor. She then pulled a pair of pins out of her mane and inserted them into the lock before wiggling them with her mouth until a click opened the door. They crept into the room, Udonga and Isihlangu lighting their horns and dropping their invisibility.

The room was actually not very dark despite the lack of windows. There were torches and dimly glowing stones set into the walls. There were also small fires below some of the many large pots. Bookshelves lined the walls away from the flames. Isihlangu scuttled over to one of the stones and tapped it, brightening its glow. She then looked at the Zebrish titles of the books. "Okay. I understand why there would be books on magic in here, but why does he have so many books on acting in his study?"

Star Swirl walked up to one of the enormous number of massive jars scattered around the huge study. She lifted the lid and stretched to look inside at the thick, green goo. "Changeling ooze," she said.

Udonga peered inside another jar before looking around at the jars in the room. "And _lots _of it. Why does he need so much? And where did he get it? I understand using a bit in potions or something, but this is completely _ridiculous!_"

Star Swirl glanced about the room. In the far corner was a bright light hidden behind a drawn curtain. _That _was interesting, but there was something which concerned her even more. At the back of the room was by far the largest pot she had ever seen. It even had a staircase up to the rim.

"Do you see that huge pot on the other side of the room?" asked Star Swirl. "We need to look inside."

They traversed the study floor, climbed up the steps to the edge of the pot and peered inside.

The bowl was filled with a clear liquid. Below the surface of the liquid was a familiar, large, multi-coloured zebra stallion with a large hole in his chest.

_A/N: Ano is a reff to the fic The War and What Came After. See if you can spot the others._


End file.
